separate out blockchain db and wallet to two dirs?

This idea is from a Debian user [1].

What do you think of moving the > 2 GB db to $HOME/.cache/bitcoin and leaving the wallet and other config files in $HOME/.bitcoin? This is so backups can skip the .cache directory and the proposal follows the freedesktop.org XDG Base Directory Specification [2]. Personal info/settings stays in .bitcoin/ and everything that can be rebuilt goes to .cache/bitcoin/ I know users can do a work around and set it up themselves with symlinks, but interested in what you guys think.

Cheers, Scott (Debian Developer but new to bitcoin)

[1] http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=660286
[2] http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html

I mentioned this somewhere a while ago. It is enough of a sysadmin problem to warrant a feature ticket. Open one on github for it. XDGBDS is not canon. So don't hardcode said paths. All paths should be specifiable in bitcoin the config file, whose location should itself be specifiable on the command line.

I like this idea, although I would say the blockchain should go in /var/lib/bitcoin by default, right? I'm just a longtime LInux guy, not a formal sysadmin, though.

Peter

On Fri, Sep 14, 2012 at 11:15 AM, grarpamp <grarpamp@gmail•com> wrote:

> I mentioned this somewhere a while ago.
> It is enough of a sysadmin problem to warrant a feature ticket.
> Open one on github for it.
> XDGBDS is not canon. So don't hardcode said paths.
> All paths should be specifiable in bitcoin the config file, whose
> location should itself be specifiable on the command line.
>
>
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> I like this idea, although I would say the blockchain should go in /var/lib/bitcoin
> by default, right? I'm just a longtime LInux guy, not a formal sysadmin, though.

Further, bitcoin doesn't allow easy separation of the files without detachdb (off by default), nor does it supply a user agnostic system daemon to do the block processing separately from user wallet ops. So I would suggest until then it remain split up somewhere under .bitcoin rather than in /var or anywhere else.

Linux typically uses the FHS, which various distros often bastardize: http://www.linuxfoundation.org/collaborate/workgroups/lsb/fhs BSD typically uses the traditional hierarchy, for which admins often add /home and /opt: http://svnweb.freebsd.org/base/head/share/man/man7/hier.7?revision=HEAD&view=markup

You'd have to read them both and decide which camp you're in. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filesystem_Hierarchy_Standard

Since bitcoin isn't really an X app at it's core, XDG doesn't really apply. http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html

Further, bitcoin doesn't allow easy separation of the files without detachdb (off by default), nor does it supply a user agnostic system daemon to do the block processing separately from user wallet ops. So I would suggest until then it remain split up somewhere under .bitcoin rather than in /var or anywhere else.

And when you figure out where I should place my messages in full the first time, please let me know because I obviously need help.

On Fri, Sep 14, 2012 at 3:57 AM, Scott Howard <showard314@gmail•com> wrote:

> This idea is from a Debian user [1].
>
> What do you think of moving the > 2 GB db to $HOME/.cache/bitcoin and
> leaving the wallet and other config files in $HOME/.bitcoin? This is
> so backups can skip the .cache directory and the proposal follows the
> freedesktop.org XDG Base Directory Specification [2]. Personal
> info/settings stays in .bitcoin/ and everything that can be rebuilt
> goes to .cache/bitcoin/ I know users can do a work around and set it
> up themselves with symlinks, but interested in what you guys think.
>

This is currently not feasible due to BerkelyDB limitations. All the databases are within one 'environment', which is necessarily one directory (it can probably be hacked around, but obviously we're really careful).

When LevelDB for the block chain and the custom format for the wallets is introduces, various new configurations will be possible: Multiple wallets, wallet in block chain in separate dirs, etc.

Wladimir

On Fri, Sep 14, 2012 at 1:27 AM, Wladimir <laanwj@gmail•com> wrote:

> This is currently not feasible due to BerkelyDB limitations. All the
> databases are within one 'environment', which is necessarily one directory
> (it can probably be hacked around, but obviously we're really careful).
>
> When LevelDB for the block chain and the custom format for the wallets is
> introduces, various new configurations will be possible: Multiple wallets,
> wallet in block chain in separate dirs, etc.

Indeed. See many threads on the forum discussing this... a frequently requested feature.

As Wladimir says, it's a database constraint at the moment.