/usr/local/bin and so forth

[Konrad Heuer]

On Thu, 8 May 2003, collins wrote:

> Coming from a linux background (gentoo distro), I find it strange to
> find all sorts of crap in /usr/local/bin.  I'm used to find all standard
> software in /usr/bin (or certain binary packages in /opt) and to find
> /usr/local/bin reserved for stuff added by the local administrator.
>
> 1. What's the rationale behind this for freebsd?

/usr/local/bin etc. have traditionally (UNIX tradition) always been used
for local additions done by the admin and for additional open source
software. To my mind, it's not a good idea to put all those software in
/usr/bin. Linux, which is essentially just a kernel with lots of software
packages and among them especially the GNU untilities, does not
distinguish between ls and (let's say) a2ps; but FreeBSD which is a full
os does.  So /usr/bin etc. only contain what belongs to the system.

> 2. Where does one (as a standard) put truly local scripts, etc. so it
> won't get confused with all the stuff in /usr/local/bin?

You are free to create (e.g.) /usr/local/myownstuff/bin and to put your
own stuff there.

Best regards
Konrad

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