RE: [Squeak-VMdev] RFC: Default VM directory

[Lex S. <le...@cc...>]

Just to toss out, Bert's comment about scripts is a real issue.  I tried
to use Squeak in a scripting situation on Windows once, and got
frustrated because of it not inheriting the worknig directory.  I had to
fully specify every filename.  (Another nuisance was that it didn't
block when called from a batch script, but instead forked into its own
independent thread.)

So, I would vote that we in fact use whatever Windows gives you.  In a
drag-and-drop situation, you are unlikely to care what "FileDirectory
default" is, anyway, are you?

Regarding the sources file, I actually find it pretty annoying to have
this stupid symlink in every directory I run Squeak from.  It would be
really nice if the image could query for a sources directory and then
use that.  On Unix that would be some system location (though probably
overide-able by an environment variable).  For Windows, I don't know
which would make more sense: VM or image.  I would guess VM, just
because Windows programs tend to have a single directory tree holding
all of the standard files.

For the changes file, of course, we can derive a name from the image
name, and thus we have no trouble.  (Assuming  the name is fully
qualified, and which we could insist that it is.)

Fileouts, I guess, should go in the image directory, because they seem
like the same sort of development type thingie as an image, anyway, and
since it would be annoying if fileouts started appearing on the desktop.
 Logfiles can go anywhere on Windows; the VM directory would seem the
most natural place, if it is writable.



Lex

PS -- on Unix it is possible that your directory is unlinked and doesn't
have a position.  But I suppose we can live with ignoring this awkward
case!  :)  The usual Unix idea is not to insist on having an absolute
position in the file hierarchy.  Not every file has a name in Unix; but
then again, that's an immediate conflict with the Squeak
StandardFileStream class.