What is /usr/libexec

[Luis Giner]

What is /usr/libexec? On my 10.20 system it's
-r-xr-xr-x 1 bin bin 110972 Mar 23 10:54 libexec

I need to move it because my gcc installation needs to create a directory called /usr/libexec. I'm just not sure what it is.

Thanks for the information.

[AwadheshPandey]

See this Link This will help u
http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/05/msg00401.html

Awadhesh

[Matti_Kurkela · Accepted solution]

Note that in this case /usr/libexec is not a directory but a *file*!

It is definitely not a standard part of the HP-UX operating system, that's for sure.

Probably someone has tried to copy/install something to /usr/libexec, by using a command like "cp somefile /usr/libexec".

Because /usr/libexec did not exist at that point, cp changed the name of the copied file to "libexec". If several files were copied in this way, the newer file overwrote the old one each time.

Actually, the culprit might even be the gcc installation script, if it isn't smart enough to check whether /usr/libexec exists before installing files there.

If you're interested, the commands "file libexec", "ldd libexec" and "strings libexec" may give some clues about the file. But because the original name of the file is now lost, it is probably useless: things in /usr/libexec are supposed to be used by other programs, and if the name is not absolutely correct the programs won't find the file.

[Senthil Kumar .A_1]

Hi,

Matti's reply seems to be logical in what would have happened. For what to do, I suggest, move the current /usr/libexec file somewhere safe and go ahead with installing gcc. You can always revert back the changes if required.

Regards,
Senthil Kumar .A