[gentoo-dev] package.mask

[Daniel Robbins <drobbins@gentoo.org>]

Developers,

I just updated the current version of Portage on CVS (portage-1.5_pre10).
This version of portage seems to be working well for Achim, and now has
an additional new feature.

The /usr/portage/profiles/package.mask file can now be used to *eliminate*
packages for consideration by the auto-build system.  It's really useful
if you are adding experimental and not-quite-working packages to portage.
Simply add a dependency line to /usr/portage/package.mask that matches the particular
ebuild you'd like to mark as "not ready for others".  Each dependency should
appear on its own line, and "# style" comments are allowed as long as the
line begins with a "#".  Here's an example package.mask file:

#sys-apps/bash-2.05 is experimental (not really, this is just an example)
=sys-apps/bash-2.05

#sys-apps/foo (all versions) should *not* be available to end-users
sys-apps/foo

Right now, "=sys-apps/bash-2.05" is in the package.mask file as a placeholder.
As soon as Achim gets the new version of Portage on his system and tests out
the package.mask feature, it'll be removed :)  If you merge the brand-new
version of portage-1.5_pre10, you'll find that for the time being, bash-2.05
will not be found by "emerge".

However, you can still install masked packages using ebuild.

All developers should now use package.mask as a way to ensure that end-users
don't accidentally auto-merge experimental ebuilds.

Best Regards,

-- 
Daniel Robbins					<drobbins@gentoo.org>
President/CEO					http://www.gentoo.org 
Gentoo Technologies, Inc.