Request for clarification on menu/file spec

[Jeremy White]

> Although it's probably a pragmatic approach I don't think applications should 
> base their decision where to install on $XDG_DATA_DIRS.
> 
> Where is the application itself installed? How do you handle manpages?

I wonder if we have a disconnect here.  I'm working on an application
that is to be distributed in binary form only, no source (i.e. easy for
the user).  So there is no ./configure or prefix
(or even man pages) involved.

The product itself comes in several flavors; .deb, .rpm, or in a self
installing shell script (using Loki Setup).  The interesting case
is the Loki Setup case.  When run that way, it
can be installed into any directory the user
chooses; it If she's running as root, the default is /opt/<app-name>,
if as user, it's ~/<app-name>.

So my need is to figure out where to stick a .desktop file so that
it will show up in her menu and will correctly launch my app.

Cheers,

Jeremy