[vox-tech] Gentoo install: Question on /var/tmp

[Margo Schulter]

Hello, everyone, and currently I'm preparing to install Gentoo Linux
on what will be a dual-boot system -- with MS-DOS 6.22/DJGPP (a 32-bit
DOS port of the GNU utilities) already in place.

At this point I'm trying to plan out an install scenario, and am
fairly confident about my general scheme for partitioning the system's
hard drive -- 2G for DOS and 38G for Gentoo. However, the _Gentoo
Handbook_ makes a comment about /var/tmp -- I plan a separate /var
partition -- that I'd like to be clearer on in terms of what happens
and when.

Why I don't quote enough from the Handbook to give a bit of context:

>   4.e. Mounting

>   Now that your partitions are initialized and are housing a filesystem,
>   it is time to mount those partitions. Use the mount command. Don't
>   forget to create the necessary mount directories for every partition
>   you created. As an example we mount the root and boot partition:

>       Code Listing 15: Mounting partitions
>   # mount /dev/hda3 /mnt/gentoo
>   # mkdir /mnt/gentoo/boot
>   # mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/gentoo/boot

>   Note: If you want your /tmp to reside on a separate partition, be sure
>   to change its permissions after mounting: chmod 1777 /mnt/gentoo/tmp.
>   This also holds for /var/tmp.

Should I take this to mean after following the example of Code Listing
15 for mounting the /var partition -- say hda9 -- I should then create
a /var/tmp directory manually and apply chmod 1777?

     # mkdir /mnt/gentoo/var
     # mount /dev/hda9 /mnt/gentoo/var
     # mkdir /mnt/gentoo/var/tmp
     # chmod 1777 /mnt/gentoo/var/tmp

The idea here, as was discussed in one thread in the Gentoo Forums
which suggested this procedure to me, is to set /var/tmp at a mode of
1777 while leaving the rest of /var at the usual 755.

What I'd like to confirm is that this looks like the right procedure
at the right time in the install process.

Most appreciatively,

Margo Schulter
mschulter at calweb.com