[HEADS UP] perl symlinks in /usr/bin will be gone

[Mark Sergeant]

>
> If it's linux tradition to put perl in this path, perl programmers
> should assume another path on FreeBSD, so it isn't an argument for
> the proposed change.
>
As per the current perl-5.8.6 INSTALL file ...

It may seem obvious, but Perl is useful only when users can easily
find it.  It's often a good idea to have both /usr/bin/perl and
/usr/local/bin/perl be symlinks to the actual binary.

I like the idea of symlinks to the actual binary and have been doing 
the same on the mac os X, solaris, irix, linux and FreeBSD boxes I 
administer. One of the main things I like about FreeBSD is its ports 
system and the way you can easily configure and install items such as 
perl. If this is to become the default at least add a knob along the 
lines of CREATE_PERL_SYMLINKS or somesuch which is enabled by default 
in an install menu, this should keep everyone happy.

I know that working at an ISP I'd have a bloody hard time calling up 
the 3000 or so people that host with us to tell them that we're going 
to break their current cgi scripts which work fine on other peoples 
systems "just cos". I'd like to add a big resounding no for a removal 
without providing some option in the port to keep those symlinks 
around.

Cheers,

Mark