GNU Stow - Summary
This project is part of the GNU Project.
GNU Stow 2.0.2.
GNU Stow version 2 is in a GNU Savannah Git repository. The source package is available: http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/stow.git/snapshot/stow-master.tar.gz
What Stow is
Stow is a package manager for people who don't use package managers.
How Stow works
You install ( often with GNU Make ) your software into a repository directory ( often /stow or /usr/local/stow. ) You tell Stow where you want your software to belong and Stow safely symbolically links it there. Stow doesn't install or remove your software - it only makes or removes symbolic links to your software, which always remains in the repository.
Example
Let's install GNU Emacs 22.3 into /stow/emacs-22.3 and stow it into our root file system.
Stow checks to see if emacs is already in your file system and stops if it there will be a conflict with an existing file. If not, Stow will safely and efficiently link your entire compiled Emacs package into your file system. For example, Stow will make a symbolic link from /usr/local/bin/emacs to /stow/emacs-22.3/usr/local/bin/emacs.
Let's unstow Emacs 22.3
In a blink of an eye Stow has removed all the symbolic links it created in the previous stow operation. The Emacs package remains at all times in /stow/emacs-22.3 should you wish to restow it.
Registration Date: Sun 23 Dec 2001 11:32:44 AM UTC
License: GNU General Public License v2 or later
Development Status: 4 - Beta

