respect XDG folders

[GoogleCodeExporter]

The default config folder for mu is ~/.mu. This puts configuration files, 
bookmarks, and the database into the same folder, which is a bit confusing.

What is the expected output?
I would lobby for the Freedesktop XDG specification, outlined e.g. in:
http://ploum.net/post/207-modify-your-application-to-use-xdg-folders

In short:
- config files: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mu or ~/.config/mu
- bookmarks: $XDG_DATA_HOME/mu or ~/.local/share/mu
- database: $XDG_CACHE_HOME/mu or ~/.cache/mu

What version of the product are you using? On what operating system?
- mu (mail indexer/searcher) 0.9.1
- Linux X200 2.6.37-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Sat Jan 29 20:00:33 CET 2011 x86_64 
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU L9400 @ 1.86GHz GenuineIntel GNU/Linux

Original issue reported on code.google.com by iosonofa...@gmail.com on 2 Feb 2011 at 11:29

[GoogleCodeExporter]

I contemplated this before; however, I'm not totally sold on this. I actually 
find having things in one place quite convenient; also I can imagine some 
problems if you set your XDG_ env in your desktop-session, but also run mu 
outside that.

Anyway, I'll think about. 

Original comment by digg...@gmail.com on 3 Feb 2011 at 9:03

• Added labels: Type-Enhancement
• Removed labels: Type-Defect

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Some programs try to use XDG specs and, if they do not find the variable, 
fallback to ~/.<program>. For instance, the window manager i3. From its manpage:
[quote]
FILES
 ~/.i3/config (or ~/.config/i3/config)
       When starting, i3 looks for configuration files in the following order:
        1. ~/.config/i3/config (or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/i3/config if set)
        2. /etc/xdg/i3/config (or $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/i3/config if set)
        3. ~/.i3/config
        4. /etc/i3/config
       You can specify a custom path using the -c option.
[/quote]

Of course, a window manager always runs in an X session, but mu need not, so it 
is a bit different of a beast. However, I fancy the idea of separating config 
files from the database; one only needs to backup the config, since the DB can 
be rebuilt.

Original comment by iosonofa...@gmail.com on 3 Feb 2011 at 9:51

[GoogleCodeExporter]

@iosonfa... XDG spec notes that if $XDG_ variable not set app should use 
default locations like ~/.config/ ~/.cache and ~/.local/share

Original comment by antono.v...@gmail.com on 21 May 2012 at 5:04

[GoogleCodeExporter]

I agree with Comment 2. XDG stuff is nice for desktop environments etc 
(although you never find what you are searching for), but not so good if you 
want to use it over ssh, or terminal, sometimes in the gnome session.

Also, some fallbacks are not good, because in this case the behaviour differs 
between console and desktop environment, not what a user expects.

What is the actual *problem* with having everything in ~/.mu ?

Norbert

Original comment by prein...@gmail.com on 12 Jul 2012 at 9:31

[GoogleCodeExporter]

This issue is about an enhancement, not a problem. The enhancement would be to 
separate the database from the config. That would make sense conceptually and 
would be very useful in practice, e.g. for backup purposes.

Original comment by iosonofa...@gmail.com on 12 Jul 2012 at 10:09