[sugar] datastore "instance/" directory

[Paul Fox]

on the low level api page:
    http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Low-level_Activity_API#Writable_Directories

  - it says:  "The "instance/" directory is used for transfer to
    and from the datastore (see above)." it's not clear from
    context what this means (the "transfer" part), nor what the
    "see above" comment refers to.

  - it's also not clear (to me, anyway) what the "non-standard
    location" comments in the table mean.  "non-standard", as opposed to
    what?

  - it's not clear what the answer to bert's first FIXME question
    is, re:  the volatility of "instance/".  is "instance/"
    really just as volatile as ("tmp/"?  michael's answer refers
    to "tmp/", not "instance/".)

  - the second FIXME question re: persistence, is still a good
    one.  the referenced ticket (#5033) is closed, but it's still
    not clear to me how long-lived the "data/" directory is. 
    i guess it's kept across upgrades, and so it would be up to the
    activity to version it, if necessary, correct?  and if the
    activity is removed, "data/" goes away?  (and is the answer
    the same no matter where the activity itself is installed?)


meta-question:  is this the right forum/format for raising
questions like this?  should i use the wiki's discussion page
instead? 

paul
=---------------------
 paul fox, pgf at foxharp.boston.ma.us (arlington, ma, where it's 28.4 degrees)