Re: Location for user installed plugin libraries and icons
The user install plugins can vary between very simple with a config file
and a couple of icons up to complex with large data >1GB and hundreds
of icons. So leaving them lying around on smaller, resource constrained
systems when the main application is removed does not seem very user
friendly.
If debs must not touch files in $HOME but is allowed to create files
there (is that not a contradiction?) where else could the 'user' files
be placed?
Is there a process that allows the deb to 'clean up' the application
when the application is uninstalled, in particular any 'install'
artifacts that have been installed by plugins? Debs will identify
dependencies (other debs) that are no longer required when they are
uninstalled and the system package manger will allow automatic uninstall
of unused items if the user wants. Debs will also allow complete delete
of all data that was installed.
In the main it is expected that the systems will be 'single user' or
'single user account', so it is unlikely that there will be multiple
plugin installs for different users. The idea of the plugin manager is
to remove the need to have elevated privileges to install plugins so it
makes the user experience better. The use of .local and .config is not
the problem it is the clean up at uninstall that is. My experience of
most users is that they have no understanding of the file system beyond
'Documents', 'Downloads' and 'Desktop', so I am trying to work within
that constraint. I know users who buy new phones/tablets/PC's because
they become 'slow' due to obsolete stuff lying around which they were
not aware of, so I am trying to avoid exacerbating this issue.
The intention is not to delete config files or user data unless
explicitly requested to do so. It is just to remove the 'packaged' files
or files that are non-user modifiable which can easily and automatically
re-downloaded if needed.
Jon
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