XDG_CONFIG_DIRS an /usr/local/etc/xdg

[Bollinger, John C]

So what are you looking for at this point, Peter?  I think we're well past any question of interpreting the details of the spec, and we've even delved a bit into its history and design goals and its intended usage model.  We get that you are unhappy about how its use interacts with certain software installation scenarios that you care about, but the Base Directory spec is not going to be changed in a way that would satisfy you because the result would no longer be recognizable as Base Directory.  And clearly, although I'm sure we will all acknowledge that BD does not serve every conceivable scenario satisfactorily, there is no general sentiment that that constitutes a major flaw in the spec.


Regards,

John


-----Original Message-----
From: xdg <xdg-bounces at lists.freedesktop.org> On Behalf Of Peter White
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2021 8:27 AM
To: xdg at lists.freedesktop.org
Subject: Re: XDG_CONFIG_DIRS an /usr/local/etc/xdg

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On Mon, Sep 20, 2021 at 08:50:45AM -0400, Elsie Hupp wrote:
> > The way you describe it, it would be OK for any app to just parse the config of any other. That just feels wrong, because app A should have no business snooping in /etc/xdg/B/Brc. If app B wants to make such information available to others it should export it instead of requiring those to parse the file.
>
> To be fair, this is one of the motivations behind Flatpak and Snap. If you don’t want one app snooping where it shouldn’t, then you make it technically unable to do so.

Yes, and then there is XDG which expects exactly that, which then leads to other hacks to soften the isolation of said containers, or the inclusion of files which the go out of sync and out of date compared to what is in the real /etc. If I need hard sandboxing to stop such behaviour, then there is a serious bug in the spec. ;)


Best,
PW

P.S.: Please do not attach the whole history.

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