${prefix} as a disk-image (was: #49559: nepomuk-core can't be installed on a case-sensitive system)

[Clemens Lang]

Hi,

On Sat, Oct 01, 2016 at 10:33:08PM +0200, René J.V. Bertin wrote:
> I coined this admittedly a bit wild idea the other day that all of
> ${prefix} could be hosted on a R/W dynamic disk image, aka a sparse
> image or sparse bundle.

Sparse Bundles have the huge downside that they don't shrink
automatically. Yes, there are methods to shrink them, but that's extra
work and extra code.

> That would make it possible to install the more "unixy" ports to a
> case-sensitive filesystem without need for guiding the user through
> the steps required to create a case-sensitive volume.

Most "unixy" ports install just fine on case-insensitive filesystems,
and of the few that don't, most can be fixed with little effort. This
whole idea is overkill.

Additionally, I'd leave such a fundamental decision to Apple. It seems
we'll end up with a case-sensitive default anyway in a couple of years.

> It would also provide an alternative to those of us who want to use
> the default /opt/local prefix but still install MacPorts on a
> different volume. Rather than replacing /opt/local with a symlink
> after the initial install, we'd simply give the desired location for
> the image, and keep /opt/local as its mount point.

People can already do that. People can also mount a different filesystem
at /opt/local. I just don't think that should be our default setup.

> I also like the idea of being able to take the whole MacPorts tree
> offline with a simple command. 

A pretty uncommon use-case.

-- 
Clemens