Usepackage is a tool for managing the Unix
environment for a multi-tool, multi-platform site.
It is designed to simplify login scripts and allow
administrators to control users' environments
centrally. This tool should be considered
primarily designed for sites where users have to
deal with a number of different tools, or versions
of tools, that are installed in different
locations and require environment variables to be
set. This is particularly a problem for
developers, or anyone who has to manage a large
toolset across multiple platforms (e.g. different
versions of the Sun JDK which require various
environment variables to be set correctly). One or
more central configuration files control a number
of different "packages" and their associated
environment and dependencies for different
platforms (this includes the standard PATH,
MANPATH, and LD_LIBRARY_PATH variables). A single
user command, use, can be invoked to source the
appropriate environment information into the
users' current shell.
