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-rw-r--r--man/file-hierarchy.xml62
1 files changed, 45 insertions, 17 deletions
diff --git a/man/file-hierarchy.xml b/man/file-hierarchy.xml
index ff2ee3d4bb..b0d0e97ee7 100644
--- a/man/file-hierarchy.xml
+++ b/man/file-hierarchy.xml
@@ -130,7 +130,13 @@
network file systems, hence
applications should not assume the
full set of file API is available on
- this directory.</para></listitem>
+ this directory. Applications should
+ generally not reference this directory
+ directly, but via the per-user
+ <varname>$HOME</varname> environment
+ variable, or via the home directory
+ field of the user
+ database.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
@@ -165,7 +171,9 @@
usually mounted as
<literal>tmpfs</literal> instance, and
should hence not be used for larger
- files. Since the directory is
+ files. (Use
+ <filename>/var/tmp</filename> for
+ larger files.) Since the directory is
accessible to other users of the
system it is essential that this
directory is only written to with the
@@ -175,7 +183,13 @@
usually flushed at boot-up. Also,
files that are not accessed within a
certain time are usually automatically
- deleted.</para></listitem>
+ deleted. If applications find the
+ environment variable
+ <varname>$TMP</varname> set they
+ should prefer using the directory
+ specified in it over directly
+ referencing
+ <filename>/tmp</filename>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
@@ -278,11 +292,13 @@
<listitem><para>Secondary library
directory for placing 64bit versions
of system libraries in, if the primary
- architecture of the system is
- 32bit. This directory should not be
- used for package-specific data, unless
- this data requires 64bit-specific
- versions, too.</para></listitem>
+ architecture of the system is 32bit,
+ and <filename>/usr/lib64</filename> is
+ defined in the platform ABI. This
+ directory should not be used for
+ package-specific data, unless this
+ data requires 64bit-specific versions,
+ too.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
@@ -291,7 +307,11 @@
betwen multiple packages, such as
documentation, man pages, time zone
information, fonts and other
- resources.</para></listitem>
+ resources. Usually, the precise
+ location and format of files stored
+ below this directory is subject to
+ specifications that ensure
+ interoperability.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
@@ -403,18 +423,26 @@
contrast to <filename>/tmp</filename>
this directory is usually mounted from
a persistent physical file system and
- can thus accept larger files. This
- directory is generally not flushed at
- boot-up, but time-based cleanup of
- files that have not been accessed for
- a certain time is applied. The same
- security restrictions as with
+ can thus accept larger files. (Use
+ <filename>/tmp</filename> for smaller
+ files.) This directory is generally
+ not flushed at boot-up, but time-based
+ cleanup of files that have not been
+ accessed for a certain time is
+ applied. The same security
+ restrictions as with
<filename>/tmp</filename> apply, and
hence only
<citerefentry><refentrytitle>mkstemp</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
<citerefentry><refentrytitle>mkdtemp</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>
or similar calls should be used to
- make use of this directory.
+ make use of this directory. If
+ applications find the environment
+ variable <varname>$TMP</varname> set
+ they should prefer using the directory
+ specified in it over directly
+ referencing
+ <filename>/var/tmp</filename>.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
@@ -607,7 +635,7 @@
</row>
<row>
<entry><filename>/usr/lib64</filename></entry>
- <entry>Public shared libraries of the package, compiled for the secondary, 64bit architecture, if this is part of the Operating System ABI.</entry>
+ <entry>Public shared libraries of the package, compiled for the secondary, 64bit architecture, if this is part of the platform ABI of the architecture.</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry><filename>/usr/lib64/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>