Re: [gentoo-dev] Install report, bugs, questions & suggestions

[Maciek Borowka <mborowka@ifaedi.insa-lyon.fr>]

Some answers....

> XSANE
> latest xsane is 0.84. latest in gentoo is 0.77, quite old. Is there a
> particular reason for keeping an old version?

I don't think so. Upgrade the ebuild file and send it to bugs.gentoo.org if 
you want it in gentoo


> BASESYSTEM
> basesystem wants me to install isapnptools, but i haven't used a isa
> cards for year! i don't even have an isa slot! i think hotplug would be
> a much better thing to have in core system than isapnptools.. how to
> tell emerge i don't want it with update (without having to do it at each
> emerge rsync) ?

Take a look at /usr/portage/profiles directory. There is a lot of interesting
stuff there : package.mask for the packages that you don't want, or 
default/packages for the list of default packages. 
You can create your own profile too, and put there only the packages you want.


> GKRELLMMS
> gkrellmms.c: In function `create_gkrellmms':
> gkrellmms.c:694: structure has no member named `top_margin'
> gkrellmms.c:696: structure has no member named `bottom_margin'
> make: *** [gkrellmms.o] Error 1

This is a bug in gkrellmms. If you compile it from sources, you get the
same error. Try on their mailing list (if they have one)...

> LANGUAGE
> Is there any way to have non-english language in other apps than kde
> itself?

Yes, use LANG environnement variable :
maciek@dune maciek $ export LANG="fr_FR"
maciek@dune maciek $ ls /rien
ls: /rien: Aucun fichier ou répertoire de ce type
maciek@dune maciek $ export LANG="en_EN"
maciek@dune maciek $ ls /rien
ls: /rien: No such file or directory


> EBUILDS
> How do we find the list (and description?) of packages that can be
> installed? I'm talking of something equivalent to rpmdrake for example

All the packages are organised in /usr/portage tree. You can use find (or 
locate) to browse them.


> RPM
> rpm is present so i guess it's supported.. but why using rpm 3.0.6 as
> 4.0.3 is the latest version?

Gentoo is NOT a rpm distribution. The rpm ebuild is put in portage in order 
to let you install some (almost always proprietary) software distributed only 
in rpms files. Personnally, I don't know any of these that needs rpm 4.

Anyway, I am sure that your ebuild will be welcome ;+)


HTH,
/Maciek

-- 
If you think C++ is not overly complicated, just what is
a protected abstract virtual base pure virtual private
destructor, and when was the last time you needed one?
-- Tom Cargill, C++ Journal, Fall 1990