Jeffrey J. Kosowsky wrote:
> 
>  > > The installer doing the substitution also establishes and moves the code 
> to its 
>  > > runtime location - which the packagers have put elsewhere.  It is 
> approximately 
>  > > the equivalent of wanting to change 'configure' options of some other 
> source 
>  > > package after you've installed a packaged binary.
>  > 
>  > I'm not talking about installation time.
>  > 
>  > I figure it works like this:
>  > - someone calls BackupPC::new()
>  > - it takes it's patched-in $TopDir to locate config.pl
>  > - it reads config.pl
>  > - so what's $Config{TopDir} good for except for confusing users?
>  > 
>  > I'd suggest just removing the setting from config.pl - the code calling
>  > it should already know the correct setting - it's been patched in, isn't
>  > it? Having it in config.pl will only confuse users since they expect it
>  > is easy to change - so let's config.pl reflect what's really going on:
>  > You cannot change it just here.
> 
> I agree - I think it is the non-working yet present $Config(TopDir)
> variable that is the primary source of the confusion. I would suggest
> either:
> 1. Changing the way loading works so that TopDir is indeed specifiable
>    as  a config parameter
> 2. Removing TopDir as a config variable as Tino suggests.
> 
> Otherwise, we will continue to be flooded by emails from users making
> the very logical assumption that $Config(TopDir) actually works like
> any other $Config parameter, allowing you to configure TopDir. We can
> all hope and bitch that people should read the HowTos/FAQs/archives
> etc. but this usage is so contrary to what one expects that it is hard
> to blame the user here...

But it is an artifact of packaging and distributing a pre-configured copy that 
makes it a problem at all.  The distribution packagers should document the 
choice they made and how to deal with it.

-- 
    Les Mikesell
      lesmikesell AT gmail DOT com


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