usr/local/bin/ usr/bin/ same thing?

Question

usr/local/bin/ usr/bin/ same thing?

I'm trying to install ypops so I can check my yahoomail through a pop3 account and part of the installation says to go to the Terminal and copy ypops to /usr/local/bin/ however this directory doesn't appear to exist on my computer. I found one site (granted for installing a different program) that said if usr/local/bin/ doesn't exist to try usr/bin/ Are these both equivalent directories? I don't really know much about Terminal or the directory structure of hidden files on a Mac. Any help would be much appreciated.

Posted on Nov 1, 2005 5:00 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 1, 2005 5:30 PM in response to Chris Campbell

No, they are not the same. As the name implies, /usr/local/bin/ is for locally installed programs, i.e., optional stuff that you have installed. /usr/bin/ is for system-installed programs. If you haven't installed anything in local/bin, it won't exist. So create it.

<code>
sudo mkdir /usr/local/bin
</code>

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Answer 2

Kappy

Level 10

362,023 points

Nov 1, 2005 5:30 PM in response to Chris Campbell

When you open a Terminal session you will need to enter the following at the prompt:

cd /usr/local/bin/

Press return. You will now be in the directory. The two directories, /usr/bin/ and /usr/local/bin/ are not the same nor equivalent.

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Answer 3

Nov 1, 2005 6:34 PM in response to Chris Campbell

Thanks for the help.

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Answer 4

Jan 29, 2006 1:43 AM in response to Chris Campbell

Don't forget to add it to your search path!

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