00dani/stow
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Pull requests Projects Releases Packages Wiki Activity

Revamp README.

Browse source
This commit is contained in:
Adam Spiers 2012-03-01 11:40:34 +00:00
parent af36a44bcb
commit b6f9ef2b2f
1 changed files with 47 additions and 21 deletions
Show stats Download patch file Download diff file Expand all files Collapse all files

68
README
View file

@ -1,27 +1,53 @@
This is GNU Stow, a program for managing the installation of software
packages, keeping them separate (/usr/local/stow/emacs vs.
/usr/local/stow/perl, for example) while making them appear to be
installed in the same place (/usr/local). Stow doesn't store an extra
state between runs, so there's no danger of mangling directories when
file hierarchies don't match the database. Also, stow will never
delete any files, directories, or links that appear in a stow
directory, so it is always possible to rebuild the target tree.
README for GNU Stow
===================
This is GNU Stow, a symlink farm manager program which takes distinct
packages of software and/or data located in separate directories on
the filesystem, and makes them appear to be installed in the same
place. For example, /usr/local/bin could contain symlinks to files
within /usr/local/stow/emacs/bin, /usr/local/stow/perl/bin etc., and
likewise recursively for any other subdirectories such as .../share,
.../man, and so on.
This is particularly useful for keeping track of system-wide and
per-user installations of software built from source, but can also
facilitate a more controlled approach to management of configuration
files in the user's home directory, especially when coupled with
version control systems.
Stow is implemented as a combination of a Perl script providing a CLI
interface, and a backend Perl module which does most of the work.
You can get the latest information about Stow from the home page:
http://www.gnu.org/software/stow/
License
-------
Stow is free software, licensed under the GNU General Public License,
which can be found in the file COPYING.
Installation
------------
See INSTALL for installation instructions.
You can get the latest information about Stow from
http://www.gnu.org/software/stow/stow.html
Feedback
--------
Stow was inspired by Carnegie Mellon's "Depot" program, but is substantially
simpler. Whereas Depot requires database files to keep things in sync, Stow
stores no extra state between runs, so there's no danger (as there is in
Depot) of mangling directories when file hierarchies don't match the database.
Also unlike Depot, Stow will never delete any files, directories, or links
that appear in a Stow directory (e.g., /usr/local/stow/emacs), so it's always
possible to rebuild the target tree (e.g., /usr/local).
Please do send comments, questions, and constructive criticism. The
mailing lists and any other communication channels are detailed on the
above home page.
Stow is free software, licensed under the GNU General Public License, which
can be found in the file COPYING.
Brief history
-------------
Please mail comments, questions, and criticisms to the current maintainers
via help-stow@gnu.org or bug-stow@gnu.org.
Stow was inspired by Carnegie Mellon's "Depot" program, but is
substantially simpler. Whereas Depot requires database files to keep
things in sync, Stow stores no extra state between runs, so there's no
danger (as there is in Depot) of mangling directories when file
hierarchies don't match the database. Also unlike Depot, Stow will
never delete any files, directories, or links that appear in a Stow
directory (e.g., /usr/local/stow/emacs), so it's always possible to
rebuild the target tree (e.g., /usr/local).