Hello
While wishing to test two versions of Octave with different compile options,
I came up with a simple idea. I usually configure octave as configure
--prefix=${HOME}/usr
meaning files are under
${HOME}/usr/bin, ${HOME}/usr/lib, and so on
Now, what about having a prefix of somepath/octave-4.2/
meaning files would be now on
somepath/octave-4.2/bin, somepath/octave-4.2/lib, ...
with some symbolic links (for executable, man and info files) in the usual
path. Furthermore, under somepath/octave-4.2 should be a simple Makefile
with targets:
1) create the mentionned links
2) purge those links
in such a way that 'uninstalling' would be as simple as
cd somepath/octave-4.2
make uninstall
cd ..
rm -rf octave-4.2
It is similar to Mac OS Application approach: everything living under a
common place instead of a /usr/lib with files from dozen of packages. The
latter is easier for searching; the former is easier to manage: one hierachy
= one App
Given the number of files typically included in Octave, this would simplify
its management. and Yes, I do not always use the OS package manager.
Your opinions ?