From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 4.0.0 (2022-12-14) on finch.gentoo.org X-Spam-Level: * X-Spam-Status: No, score=1.0 required=5.0 tests=DATE_IN_PAST_12_24, DKIM_ADSP_NXDOMAIN,DMARC_MISSING,INVALID_DATE,MAILING_LIST_MULTI autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=4.0.0 Received: from chiba.3jane.net ([207.170.82.202] ident=root) by cvs.gentoo.org with esmtp (Exim 3.30 #1) id 15x8ou-0004DT-00 for gentoo-dev@gentoo.org; Fri, 26 Oct 2001 09:22:52 -0600 Received: from chiba (damon@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by chiba.3jane.net (8.11.2/8.11.1) with ESMTP id f9QFMrs48305; Fri, 26 Oct 2001 10:22:53 -0500 (CDT) (envelope-from damon@chiba.3jane.net) Message-Id: <200110261522.f9QFMrs48305@chiba.3jane.net> To: gentoo-dev@cvs.gentoo.org cc: gentoo-dev@gentoo.org Subject: Re: [gentoo-dev] gentoo's portage In-reply-to: <6B4466291C722C4DABFC7057CF405416243948@denggxexch02.ad.lgc.com> References: <6B4466291C722C4DABFC7057CF405416243948@denggxexch02.ad.lgc.com> Comments: In-reply-to Sami Cokar message dated "Fri, 26 Oct 2001 09:06:47 -0600." From: "Damon M. Conway" Sender: gentoo-dev-admin@cvs.gentoo.org Errors-To: gentoo-dev-admin@cvs.gentoo.org X-BeenThere: gentoo-dev@cvs.gentoo.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: gentoo-dev@cvs.gentoo.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: Gentoo Linux development list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Date: Fri Oct 26 09:23:06 2001 X-Original-Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2001 10:22:53 -0500 X-Archives-Salt: 8ac1f75c-70a4-43af-a160-7b4d8bb25866 X-Archives-Hash: 66c6200866de444850f59bfc31ba9fa1 >1) documentation: please ensure the 'build' options >(/etc/make.conf.build) are explained as to what all the three letter >acronyms mean and the impact/dependencies of picking them > >2)documentation: the departure from 'normal' system startup scripts >needs to described. What will happen when a 'normal' non-gentoo >application tries to install itself expecting a 'standard' layout? Yes, we need documentation. It's probably about time we look at putting a doco team together. The 1.0 release is sneaking up on us. >3) portage: a great drawback seems that 'constant human effort' is >required to ensure the portage tree is updated. I can see this becoming >an issue for gentoo. There are many applications released and updated >that must conform to the portage system to make sure 'the latest and >greatest' really IS available "as advertised" on the web site :) eg. I >needed the latest Matrox drivers and Powerdesk utility which I installed >manually. my system's portage is not aware of manual installs I perform >and I needed the drivers before they could be added to the 'gentoo >portage' tree. Please see the 4000 packages in the FreeBSD ports tree. This method is tried and true. >4) portage: sounds powerful - perhaps it can also be used as a means of >a useful/automated/'user-friendly' 'uninstall' which is sorely lacking >in the unix world. I have tried 4+ distributions of Linux and am >getting a bit tired of telling their respective 'uninstall' that when I >want to remove a game, I would STILL like to keep gnome on my system. It does, but it's not very userfriendly at the moment. To unmerge an app, do this: ebuild /var/db/pkg///.ebuild unmerge It will only unmerge that version of that application, and nothing else. >5) portage: if possible (space requirements, etc), 'generic 386' >binaries for the base system should be in the portage tree so that >initial installs/builds can progress faster. the 'emerge system' on my >P4 1.4 took a looong time. Would be better to have as much generic base >system and then be able to fine tune as desired. Yes, but right now we are in a pre-release state and doing a full build for each release would get us nowhere. >6) portage: organization. consider reducing the # of categories. >People can mainly remember 7 +/- 2 items of information. go into >/usr/portage and there are a lot of choices which will only increase in >the future. Consider: They don't have to remember them, they are in /usr/portage. They are also pretty self explanitory. > /usr/portage/base (anything necessary to get from PC booted to >minimal command line) > /usr/portage/GUI (user interfaces, windowing systems) > /user/portage/development (development tools, languages) > > etc. Note that i used 'development' instead of 'dev'. lets use >long file names as necessary. > > and don't go too deep: > > >/usr/portage/development/languages/python/libs/3rdparty/UnimportantLib This is no better than dev-python/libN. You have to go no farther than /usr/portage to get a view of where things are. Also, you can do an "emerge /" from anywhere in the filesystem, and portage with install the latest version of that app with dependencies. Can you imagine having to type "emerge development/languages/python/libs/3rdparty/UnimportantLib" ? I think the more you play with the system, the more you'll begin to see it's logic. Also, I know that some of us would like to see a search feature. However, that is low on the list for now. We're in the process of shaking bugs out of the system and defining a solid base from which to work from. >So far, gentoo seems to be the distribution I would prefer to use. >Congratulations on the results you've achieved. drobbins deserves all the credit. He's designed and built the only Linux distro I'll use. kabau -- "UNIX was not designed to stop you from doing stupid things, because that would also stop you from doing clever things." --Doug Gwyn