Should we base our search path on the XDG Base Directory Specification? http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html To the point of actually using getenv to get these search paths?
I say we should.
The default configuration files should be $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/common-lisp/source-registry.conf $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/common-lisp/source-registry.conf.d/
And the default search path should include $XDG_DATA_DIRS/common-lisp/systems/ $XDG_DATA_DIRS/common-lisp/source//
The default cache path should be under $XDG_CACHE_HOME/common-lisp/
The config dirs stuff looks good. Systems and sources do not belong under DATA dirs. If the cache path specifies where fasls get dumped, I'm ambivalent whether it belongs in CACHE_HOME.
Are there specs regarding how XDG works on apple or mswin platforms?
Also note that systems like KDE support XDG in addition to their own heirarchy. There are benefits to keeping your apples away from your oranges. http://techbase.kde.org/KDE_System_Administration/XDG_Filesystem_Hierarchy http://techbase.kde.org/KDE_System_Administration/KDE_Filesystem_Hierarchy
XDG is a win if you're trying to share trash cans and desktop files between window managers. I don't see how CL fits in; but XDG does appear to have a reasonable description of how things work.
- Daniel