[sugar] datastore "instance/" directory

[Bert Freudenberg]

On Mar 1, 2008, at 14:46 , Paul Fox wrote:

> on the low level api page:
>     http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Low- 
> level_Activity_API#Writable_Directories
>
>   - it says:  "The "instance/" directory is used for transfer to
>     and from the datastore (see above)." it's not clear from
>     context what this means (the "transfer" part), nor what the
>     "see above" comment refers to.

I updated the wiki.

>   - it's also not clear (to me, anyway) what the "non-standard
>     location" comments in the table mean.  "non-standard", as  
> opposed to
>     what?

That comment was simply confusing - it referred to the fact that the  
standard Unix location for temporary data was /tmp. In a former  
design, /tmp would actually be virtualized for each activity, which  
would make SUGAR_ACTIVITY_ROOT unnecessary. I updated the wiki.

>   - it's not clear what the answer to bert's first FIXME question
>     is, re:  the volatility of "instance/".  is "instance/"
>     really just as volatile as ("tmp/"?  michael's answer refers
>     to "tmp/", not "instance/".)

Yes. I updated the wiki.

>   - the second FIXME question re: persistence, is still a good
>     one.  the referenced ticket (#5033) is closed, but it's still
>     not clear to me how long-lived the "data/" directory is.
>     i guess it's kept across upgrades, and so it would be up to the
>     activity to version it, if necessary, correct?

Yes. I updated the wiki.

> and if the
>     activity is removed, "data/" goes away?

Currently it does not go away I think, and would be reused if the  
activity would be reinstalled. This might be considered a bug.

>   (and is the answer
>     the same no matter where the activity itself is installed?)

Yes, install location has no influence on these directories. It only  
depends on wether security is enabled or not.

> meta-question:  is this the right forum/format for raising
> questions like this?  should i use the wiki's discussion page
> instead?

It's better to discuss here, and document the answers on the wiki.

- Bert -