manual tomcat install versus apt

[Thufir]

Thierry Carrez <thierry.carrez <at> ubuntu.com> writes:
[...]
> >> [1] http://www.howtogeek.com/
> >> howto/linux/installing-tomcat-6-on-ubuntu/
> >
> > Yes, this is the how-to I followed.  However, let's ask:  
> > why is there
> > even such a how-to?  why wouldn't it just advise to use apt-get?
>
> As I said, this howto was written before the Tomcat 6 packages
> were even available.
> So the "manual install" was the only method there was. This
> is the main reason why these howtos exist. It doesn't advise to
> install from the repository because it was never updated.

Actually, it states:

"If you are running Ubuntu and want to use the Tomcat
servlet container, you should not use the version from
the repositories as it just doesn’t work correctly."

which is a sentiment echoed on other posts on this topic by other parties,
and from persons who have written to me requesting help with tomcat
problems on Ubuntu.

>
> > Which brings us back to:  what is it that's odd about the apt-get
> > install?  why doesn't it just do the bog standard manual install, but
> > scripted?
>
> Ubuntu packages are rebuilt from the sources, they can't just download
> upstream binaries and unpack them. We also provide more system
> integration (for example we don't run Tomcat as root, which is what your
> howto does). Furthermore, Ubuntu packages try to stick as much as they
> can to FHS guidelines. Unpacking everything in a single directory is not
> the way we install applications. We try to put configuration in /etc,
> logs in /var/log, etc. That makes the resulting package more
> Ubuntu-integrated, but, I agree, a little more confusing for long-time
> Tomcat users.
>

If it's just a matter of documentation, no big deal, and glad to hear about
following FHS guidelines.  However, since Tomcat users have difficulty in
locating directories, is information on where to find these directories
centrally located?


At the very least, there's a "marketing" problem in that multiple sources
advise *not* using the repository, which rather defeats the purpose of the
repository.

I'm not currently running Tomcat, but my concern was re-ignited by another
user asking for support.  When I asked for support on the Ubuntu mailing
list, the consensus I saw was that the problem rests with the repository:

http://groups.google.ca/group/
ubuntu-users-archive/msg/ddd5236bfb7fc0d8

http://groups.google.ca/group/
ubuntu-users-archive/msg/f0646c6434ea2529

Again, not currently running Tomcat, this isn't of immediate concern
for myself. That being said, it's a problem which, to my knowledge,
hasn't been fixed.

-Thufir