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Subject: 
Re: LDRAWPREDIRS LDRAWPOSTDIRS - additional search paths
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.cad.dev, lugnet.cad.dev.mac
Date: 
Mon, 1 Mar 2004 15:42:14 GMT
Viewed: 
5598 times
  
In lugnet.cad.dev, Michael Lachmann wrote:
I just start a new sub-thread to discuss two very important points
where I thought over two nights now:

The location of the ini file and environment variables!

I would not recommend to go with both solutions, because its source
for possible errors and confusion for the user. The thing is what
would be the first thing to consider for a software - what if
environment variables and ini files contain path definitions but
different ones? I would prefere to go with the ini file variant only
- even if some of you have implemented this strategy already - this
should not be a point, also I have to discard my current
implementation on this topic.

I'm only willing to abandon environment variables if you're willing to
go the distance and really try to work out a standard that we all can
use.  I, like Lars, was quite disappointed when you got impatient and
cut short the previous discussion thread.  I thought we were still
making good progress at the time.  Since you're currently an LSC
member, I'd think you could at least try to be more patient with the
rest of us as we work this out.  Please rejoin that thread and
comment on the remaining issues:

  1.  <LDRAWDIR>\p or <LDRAWDIR>p
  2.  <HIDE> instead of HIDE
  3.  Allowing other tags like <PARTS> and ignoring unrecognized ones.

Ok now as Travis pointed out, we still need to find the LDRAWDIR
directory.  We also need environment variables to find the other
places ldraw.ini (or .ldrawrc) could reside; the WINDIR, USERPROFILE,
and HOME directories.  So we can't completely abandon environment
variables.  However there are there are reasons like java and macos9
why we might want to limit their use.

Also I have something in mind - correct if I'm wrong - but Java does
not support this environment varables very well - and as we
mentioned earlier they are very dependend on the operating system.

Java has other problems, but yes, you need a helper script or program
to pass environment variables to the current version of java.  However
there is a bit of a holy war about this in the java bug list so things
may change again.

Another thing regards the location of the ini file. In past weeks I
got several questions regarding the central installation of LDraw
and MLCad, where universities and schools are trying to install
everything on a server, read-only for the user. Users should either
not have the possiblity to change configs ore should be restricted
somehow.

Yes, I alluded to this in my previous comment about CACLS and
Windows administrators.

- Now having a ini file in the windows directory would not support
this approach, and personaly I'm not a favorite of spamming the
windows system directories with private files (even if some windows
variants do that on theire own :-)

So my suggestion is to have one ini file in the ldraw directory
itself, and another one optionally in the users home directory.

I think we need to allow for an ldraw.ini in the Windows directory
for backwards compatibliity with old programs and older single user
Windows systems, but it should be the last place searched.  Ie.
search HOME, LDRAWDIR, and then Windows.  Also, you may want to do
a different search for the LDRAWDIR.  First look in the environment,
then the HOME directory, then the WINDOWS directory.  On unix/MacOsX
could we substitute /etc for the Windows directory?

Andrew, it'd be nice if an active Mac developer spoke up on this.

Finally, if we start putting ldraw.ini in the LDRAWDIR, how do we
decide what belongs in ldraw.ini and ldconfig.ldr?  For instance if we
go with the <LDRAWDIR>p form (without the slash character), the
default search paths are platform independent and could conceivably be
worked into the ldconfig.ldr file.

Don



Message has 5 Replies:
  Re: LDRAWPREDIRS LDRAWPOSTDIRS - additional search paths
 
(...) Oops, I forgot to add this. These sort of restrictions mean a user may be forced to put extra search directories in their home directory. Rather than recognize $HOME or %USERPROFILE% in an absolute path, it might be nice to add a <HOME> (...) (21 years ago, 1-Mar-04, to lugnet.cad.dev, lugnet.cad.dev.mac)
  Re: LDRAWPREDIRS LDRAWPOSTDIRS - additional search paths
 
(...) /etc would work, except it would require admin permission to install, which is something the Mac OS X community doesn't like for an installer/app that isn't a system modifying type of installer/app. Saving stuff in /etc/ will also not survive (...) (21 years ago, 1-Mar-04, to lugnet.cad.dev.mac, lugnet.cad.dev)
  Re: LDRAWPREDIRS LDRAWPOSTDIRS - additional search paths
 
One other thing. Environment variables work too, but only serious Unixy Mac OS X people actually modify them--that is, some developers, but no one else. Normal users would even know what they are. Heck, even I don't modify mine. For my l3p and (...) (21 years ago, 1-Mar-04, to lugnet.cad.dev.mac, lugnet.cad.dev)
  Re: LDRAWPREDIRS LDRAWPOSTDIRS - additional search paths
 
"Don Heyse" <dheyse@hotmail.spam....away.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:HtwMAE.3BM@lugnet.com... (...) Done, sorry about that - but it was a hard day at work :-( (...) As mentioned earlier in this thread ... we should go with: 1) Users Home (...) (21 years ago, 1-Mar-04, to lugnet.cad.dev, lugnet.cad.dev.mac)
  Re: LDRAWPREDIRS LDRAWPOSTDIRS - additional search paths
 
Where to store the preferences? While I've been aware of this thread, I haven't actually been following it, so correct me if I've got the wrong end of the stick. (...) MacOS 9 and earlier is a single user environment and it was easy to place (and (...) (21 years ago, 1-Mar-04, to lugnet.cad.dev, lugnet.cad.dev.mac)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: LDRAWPREDIRS LDRAWPOSTDIRS - additional search paths
 
I just start a new sub-thread to discuss two very important points where I thought over two nights now: The location of the ini file and environment variables! I would not recommend to go with both solutions, because its source for possible errors (...) (21 years ago, 28-Feb-04, to lugnet.cad.dev)

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