installationspecific

Installationspecific is a term used in software packaging, deployment, and configuration contexts to describe elements that vary according to the target installation environment. It refers to aspects determined at install time, such as filesystem layout, platform, architecture, user permissions, and available dependencies. The concept helps distinguish what is fixed in code from what must adapt when software is installed on different systems.

In practice, installation-specific considerations influence where files are placed and how configuration is managed. Build and install scripts often define variables like prefix, exec_prefix, sysconfdir, datadir, and localstatedir to tailor the installation layout for a particular system. Package managers and deployment tools may generate installation-specific manifests or scripts that reflect the actual paths and permissions chosen during installation.

Examples of installation-specific differences include operating system differences (Unix-like versus Windows), varying directory hierarchies (for example, /usr/local vs /usr), and platform-specific features or dependencies. Installation-specific decisions can also involve environmental differences such as available libraries, locale, time zone data, and hardware capabilities that affect how software is configured or what components are enabled.

Best practices around installationspecific considerations emphasize minimizing reliance on hard-coded paths, using standard directories, and allowing user or administrator overrides through configuration mechanisms. Documentation should clearly note what aspects are installation-dependent and how to adjust them during deployment. Testing should cover the intended target environments to ensure correct behavior across installations.

See also: installation, software deployment, packaging, configuration management.