this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2024
126 points (97.7% liked)
Linux
48323 readers
749 users here now
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Rules
- Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
- No misinformation
- No NSFW content
- No hate speech, bigotry, etc
Related Communities
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
It is my understanding that /opt is short for optional, a bit like how /etc does actually mean et cetera, and their modern use cases were evolved rather than designed. /etc became a catch-all for system settings and configurations, and /opt became a place for executable binaries other than those managed by the local package manager. Which often meant "a big monolithic binary that arrives in a .tar.gz file." /opt became less popular to use when /usr/local/bin was made for basically the same purpose.
In modern practice, /opt gets used as a drunk tank for irritatingly unfriendly monolithic software. A lot of the time, software that isn't managed by the system's package manager gets put in /usr/local/bin, but occasionally if it's a pain in the ass it'll get put in /opt.