Homebrew Proposed SD directory restructuring for homebrew

[TheCruel]

With that argument, wouldn't it then be logical to use the "Nintendo 3DS" directory that already exists instead of "3ds"?

If that directory wasn't externally managed by non-homebrew, I would agree. I know it's perhaps reasonable to assume it won't be modified, but still not ideal imo.

 

[Shadowhand]

One thing people always say "BUT WE ALREADY HAVE /3DS/!!!!!!!1!" Who said I want to keep /3ds/ where it is? It's a folder that doesn't convey its purpose at a glance, where as /homebrew/ does. Which was my initial idea, but then other devs said "look, this is dumb, what if people share their SD cards with other devices", and that made sense to me, and after a lengthy discussion, it was decided on "/homebrew/3ds/", with the current /3ds/ folder moving inside there, under a different name.

 

[Ryccardo]

So, a save extracted with something like JKSM will just output a bunch of individual files? Also, what's the size limit on a savf? Will it be usable for something like a 2MB cache file?

1- yep
2- what you want! It's essentially a disk image with some format-time parameters (max folder count, max file count, redundancy enabled)

 

[Ryuzaki_MrL]

So, a save extracted with something like JKSM will just output a bunch of individual files? Also, what's the size limit on a savf? Will it be usable for something like a 2MB cache file?

Zelda Tri Force Heroes savedata is around 50MB or so.

 

[Drakia]

1- yep
2- what you want! It's essentially a disk image with some format-time parameters (max size, max folder count, max file count, redundancy enabled)

Huh, I didn't realize it gave you just a folder structure layout when you export a save. It's still an extra step to access configs, but less concerning in regards to obfuscating things to end users.

 

[TheCruel]

One thing people always say "BUT WE ALREADY HAVE /3DS/!!!!!!!1!" Who said I want to keep /3ds/ where it is? It's a folder that doesn't convey its purpose at a glance, where as /homebrew/ does. Which was my initial idea, but then other devs said "look, this is dumb, what if people share their SD cards with other devices", and that made sense to me, and after a lengthy discussion, it was decided on "/homebrew/3ds/", with the current /3ds/ folder moving inside there, under a different name.

Sure that would be nice, but then you'll have to go over to wiiu/wii/other communities and get them to adopt that directory too. If not, I see it hurting more than helping. It would convey that the other directories in root somehow aren't homebrew related.

 

[Ricken]

To be honest it really isn't bad to look through after trashing unnecessary files

Spoiler: My SD after deleting unnecessary files

 

[Shadowhand]

Sure that would be nice, but then you'll have to go over to wiiu/wii/other communities and get them to adopt that directory too. If not, I see it hurting more than helping. It would convey that the other directories in root somehow aren't homebrew related.

Not necessarily, but it does allow them to do the same without cluttering further with their /wii/ or /wiiu/ or /whatever/ in the root.

 

[Drakia]

One thing people always say "BUT WE ALREADY HAVE /3DS/!!!!!!!1!" Who said I want to keep /3ds/ where it is? It's a folder that doesn't convey its purpose at a glance, where as /homebrew/ does. Which was my initial idea, but then other devs said "look, this is dumb, what if people share their SD cards with other devices", and that made sense to me, and after a lengthy discussion, it was decided on "/homebrew/3ds/", with the current /3ds/ folder moving inside there, under a different name.

I dunno, the "/3ds/" folder implies that it's 3ds related. If we switch to /3ds/apps/ for homebrew, it implies that 3ds apps (homebrew) live in that folder. It's less of a change from what we have now (less confusing for users), but still helps towards cleaning up the root of the SD card, without temporarily creating yet another folder on the root to get things under way.

 

[Sono]

If I remember correctly, the CWD is set by NH2.x on launching, so the apps wouldn't need to care about hardcoding their paths. I'm gonna test this out after I post this

No `getcwd` returns "/" I thought the current working directory is set to /3ds/appname

 

[Shadowhand]

Directories I propose (and has been given a greenlight by other developers):
SD:/homebrew/3ds/: The main folder that'll replace SD root, basically it'll have /luma/ folder, /SaltFW/, JKSV, a9lh stuff and what not.

Rename /3ds/: Rename this folder to /homebrew/3ds/hbchannel or */3dsx/ or something.

I already moved MY homebrew to /homebrew/3ds/*, and asked several developers to change their paths to it, including Cell9 (which refused...) and JK_ (which was very kind), and forked several apps myself to fix them for this path.

Look at all these files/folders that could be moved to /homebrew/3ds/

And look how nice my /homebrew/3ds/ folder looks:

 

[Drakia]

DI already moved MY homebrew to /homebrew/3ds/*, and asked several developers to change their paths to it, including Cell9 (which refused...) and JK_ (which was very kind), and forked several apps myself to fix them for this path.

So, one developer refused, and one did it then reverted his change after the outcry about it being a bad location...

 

[TurtleP]

@Shadowhand well, honestly, if you're going that route just keep sdmc:/Homebrew/{Application Name}

 

[Deleted User]

I dunno, the "/3ds/" folder implies that it's 3ds related. If we switch to /3ds/apps/ for homebrew, it implies that 3ds apps (homebrew) live in that folder. It's less of a change from what we have now (less confusing for users), but still helps towards cleaning up the root of the SD card, without temporarily creating yet another folder on the root to get things under way.

I also agree that the "/homebrew/" part is an unnecessary step; "/3ds/" should suffice to convey that stuff inside is related to the 3DS, and it's very likely a "/homebrew/" directory would end up containing only the "3ds" folder.

EDIT: The proposal in the OP sounds fine, although "appdata" could probably be truncated to just "data".

 

[Shadowhand]

So, one developer refused, and one did it then reverted his change after the outcry about it being a bad location...

JK_ was very sad to do so, and he did not revert because the path is bad. He did so because people dislike the change.

@Shadowhand well, honestly, if you're going that route just keep sdmc:/Homebrew/{Application Name}

That was my initial idea, but a lengthy discussions with other big-name devs made it apparent they wouldn't support it.

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I also agree that the "/homebrew/" part is an unnecessary step; "/3ds/" should suffice to convey that stuff inside is related to the 3DS, and it's very likely a "/homebrew/" directory would end up containing only the "3ds" folder.

Not necessarily. It can also contain /nds/, or /wii/ or /wiiu/. It's extensible without cluttering the SD root.

 

[Drakia]

JK_ was very sad to do so, and he did not revert because the path is bad. He did so because people dislike the change.

I wasn't implying JK_ thought it was a bad location, but that users were unhappy because it was a bad location. That should be considered when trying to come up with a solution that end users will accept.

 

[TurtleP]

@Shadowhand I dunno. It just seems very repetitive to have /3DS/ inside of /Homebrew/ and then the application's name. You could also argue /3DS/ is repetitive for the /Nintendo 3DS/ folder existing, but. . it's a lengthy debate.

 

[a9lh-1user]

BTW i think it will be a good way for NEW CFW users! (easyer and more "stable" against doing BAD things!)
But most of the "old" CFW users have to change (if we will FORCED to use the new way) almost everything!
This will lead to new threads every day "How could i" - "What happened" - "Please Help"...... and so on.

Many users of CFW are trying all the good new CFW that are realeased and dont know what they are doing!
IMHO it is a good way for new CFW users .... but it will lead to many "problems" with the curent CFW users.

There is a golden rule named: "Dont change a running system!" and i think what the dev'S of HB and CFW did until today is AMAZING!
And it is working so far (for me with 6 different CFW and 18 folders and 19 files in the root of my SD)!

 

[Deleted User]

Not necessarily. It can also contain /nds/, or /wii/ or /wiiu/. It's extensible without cluttering the SD root.

What makes "/homebrew/" any better than the SD root for these directories? Also, considering both the Wii and Wii U scene currently put their system directories in the root, you'll have a difficult time getting everybody to change over.

 

[Fazana]

Nintendo 3DS folder should strictly remain non homebrew. Makes copying files much easier when you can ignore that folder.