PackagingDrafts/HardLinks

Changelog

 * 2009-01-30, 0.01: first shot
 * 2009-01-30, 0.02: add rpmlint patch

= Existing Guideline =

No guideline that would limit the use of hard links exists.

Proposal
Following change to Packaging Guidelines is proposed: Add a section Use of Hard Links which would read:

''If a file has more than one name, all names should be present in a single directory. Hard links that span multiple directories are prohibited, since they will make it impossible to install a package in setups where the directories reside on different file systems.''

A patch to rpmlint exists that would help packagers find out where do they violate this proposed guideline.

Motivations
The wording of the paragraph above pretty much explains the motivation. The example where this caused problems is.

Existing practice
TBD: Determine which packages currently use hard links in a manner which would conflict with this guideline.

Discussion
See Talk:PackagingDrafts/HardLinks for discussion.