storage location for common user directories

[Jamie McCracken]

Alexander Larsson wrote:
> 
> Environment variables are a very bad solution to this. First of all
> there is no way to change an environment variable throughout the desktop
> after it is started, and secondly it requires something to set the env
> vars on login, and that has to read its configuration from somewhere.
> So, if you don't standardize that then the desktops will all use
> different folders anyway! Plus, running apps outside a desktop will mean
> the env vars are not set.
> 

yes I agree its suboptimal but if we want a solution then there has to 
be some compromise somewhere because no one has yet found one that has 
no issues or complications.

IIRC, the proposed solutions boiled down to :

1) Use symlinks and hidden folders so ~/.Documents links to the 
translated folder name
2) Use environment vars
3) use an API to get physical paths

None of the above solve the pain of handling a change in locale that 
might occur at any time but simply using some magic to translate the 
folders whilst keeping the physical paths untranslated was a 
controversial solution because it would break for so many apps, ruin 
Desktop = Home and the hardcoding would lead to more arguments of where 
to stick them (Desktop or Home) and whether they should be configurable.

Its going to be tough to get consensus on this but hopefully if there is 
a will then there's a way...

-- 
Mr Jamie McCracken
http://www.advogato.org/person/jamiemcc/