🚀 go-pugleaf

> >Actually, there is a "generally accepted" was to go about this.  You
> >can compile in a default path, and provide for checking an environment
> >variable (i.e. ISPELLDICT=/some/other/path) for alternatives.  Of
> >course, your documentation should mention any such, and what they're
> >intended to be used for.  Requires a little foresight on the part of
> >the programmer, but only a little.

> Indeed, this is common.  Gcc allows both an environment variable or
> a command-line option to alter the default path.  TeX uses only
> environment variables, and you'd probably have to set half a dozen
> or more to get it running.  Emacs -- I don't know -- but if nothing
> else I'm sure you can do magic in your .emacs file.  While it is,
> of course, "generally accepted", it is by no means "standard" --
> each program seems to have it's own approach.

The above discussion is from comp.sys.3b1, but the point I now make is
relevant to comp.unix.admin as well, and maybe I'll get comments from
gnu.misc.discuss readers.  Followups to comp.unix.admin.

In a more perfect world, strings that are installation dependent that 
get compiled into binaries would be:

(a) overridable with environment variables, and,
(b) padded -- so that they can be replaced by a (possibly) longer 
    string, using an editor that handles binary.

Commercial software vendors who provide binaries only should anticipate
(a) and (b).

Comments?
Best regards,
ruck
-- 
John R. Ruckstuhl, Jr.                  ruck@alpha.ee.ufl.edu
Dept. of Electrical Engineering         ruck@cis.ufl.edu
University of Florida