Re: SEUL: SOTs comments

[Erik Walthinsen <omega@aracnet.com>]

> At 18:35 1997-09-03 +0300, Santeri Säkäjärvi wrote:
> 
> >3) Current directory tree of Unix is too complex. Directory names like
> >   etc, bin, /usr/local/bin etc. are too hard for win/dos oriented
> >   users. 
> >
> >   => The basic directory structure should be something like
> >      - bin 		(/bin, /usr/bin, /usr/local/bin/)
> >      - configuration	(/etc, /etc...)
> >      - users		(/home)
> >      - software	(/opt, /usr/local/bin)
> >      - devices		(/dev)
> >      - ???		(/var)
> >      - sbin 		(/sbin)
> 
> This is a BAD idea. It breaks all standards and causes more confusion than
> anything else. Besides, if things are set up so that the user
> can access everything from the GUI he will never need to know what
> a path is. (Ok, a slight exaggeration)

(Um, which order...?  Reverse.)

1) Not an exaggeration at all.  The only time the user will see a path is 
when they explicitly go browsing through the filesystem, at which point we 
can assume that they know more than the average end-user, and we don't have 
to hid things from them.
2) Standards are good.  Standards are very good.  FSSTND/FHS2 are very well 
defined standards.
3) That filesystem structure looks suspiciously like the FSSTND.
4) How is the FSSNTD too complex?  Normal DOS/Win users don't look at paths 
either.  The only path I've seen since W95 is a:\install, and that's only for 
stuff that's still backwards enough to install from floppies.  As with W95, 
we will be hiding paths from the user unless they *really* want to see them.  
Icon == /usr/bin/something, user sees icon, user is happy.


> Otherwise I think there were a lot to think about in Santeri's mail.
> This is just the kind of perspective we need to reach the Win95
> users.
Yup.

      Erik Walthinsen - SEUL Project infrastructure/system architecture
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