[maemo-developers] Considering /opt and MyDocs in your packages

[From: David Greaves]

Quim Gil wrote:
> Hi Maemo developers,
> 
> This is an important information specially for those handling large
> packages. You can find an online version updated at
> http://wiki.maemo.org/Documentation/Maemo_5_Developer_Guide/Packaging%2C_Deploying_and_Distributing/Installing_under_opt_and_MyDocs
> (or  http://tr.im/yeWM in short)
> 
> The N900 has about 100MB of free space in the root file system
> partition. This is not very much and would fill up quite quickly when
> installing additional applications. As a workaround, the /opt directory
> has been linked to a different partition with more space (about 1 GB)
> and /home/user/MyDocs is also available in certain cases, with even more
> space (about 25 GB). Developers are encouraged to make good use of them,
> specially for applications requiring more than 500KB, including
> dependencies.
> 
> /opt as a good alternative

Hmm, seems like another solution would be to have the opt partition mounted as
/usr and install all the 'standard' stuff into /root_usr/ and preinstall
symlinks into /usr -> /root_usr

You could have the root partition's /usr full of symlinks to /root_usr/ and then
it works without /usr mounted and when it is overmounted by the other partition
it wouldn't change.

Then /usr would be much like Debian upstream - the place to install larger data
files

David

-- 
"Don't worry, you'll be fine; I saw it work in a cartoon once..."