[PD] New deken feature, create system user folder (was how-do-i-install-externals-and-help-files page (was Re: Linux Global folder for externals)

[Alexandre Torres Porres]

2017-03-06 18:22 GMT-03:00 Dan Wilcox <danomatika at gmail.com>:

> anyway was this not all discussed and decided upon in pdx dev days?
>
>
> I think it was ~/pd-externals, at least that’s what I still use.
>

Well, I did navigate through old threads on this list to catch up. There
was a lengthy discussion about linux, which led to change it from
*~/pd-externals* to *~/.local/lib/pd/extra*.

Apparently, most felt it was annoying the creation of a *~/pd-externals* folder
and how weird and uncommon that standard folder was. Thus, there's this new
option for a standard folder...

Though, once the new standard is valid, I saw no discussion or resistance
to the idea of that folder being created for the user. In fact I saw Roman
asking something this:


I believe yet all have agreed to ~/.local/lib/pd/extra as the default
install path (and most recent Deken uses it).

There was some concerns about creating directories without asking. Now,
do those concerns still apply with above default install path? It seems
pretty normal that applications do stuff there. Is anyone still against
auto-creating?

Roman


source: https://lists.puredata.info/pipermail/pd-list/2016-06/115306.html

Well, there was no response and no formal opposition to that... there was
also many aspects of the "deken user install expeerience" discussion that
was inconclusive, as it died out when the release was made. Maybe it's time
to pick that discussion up and do some improvements for the next release.

Moreover, I saw nothing discussed about the creation of folders in MacOs or
Windows, nor how weird/bad the choice was. Me, Mark and Dan have a
consensus here how the *~/Library* folder is a bad choice. So maybe we can
follow the trend form Linux and change it to a better place like
*~/Documents*

But one thing is deciding of a good standard folder, the other discussion
is if Pd should create such folders. Is there any concern but the old
discussion that creating *~/pd-externals* in linux was a bad call?

I can't see any reason why a software can't create user and system folders
when it needs to. And right now this is making it really harder than it
should to install externals in Pd (just saying).



> BTW arduino and processing also both install libraries in:
>
> ~/Documents
>
> and as porres might say "just saying"
>
> m
>

would you also just say (as I might) that they do create such folders for
you and no one gets hurt in the process? ;)

cheers
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