[gentoo-dev] Proposal for virtual: 'virtual/imap-c-client'

[gentoo-dev] Proposal for virtual: 'virtual/imap-c-client'

[Robin H.Johnson]

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(if reading this on -core, please respond on -dev only)

Presently, if you utilize the c-client libraries in any application, you
need something that provides them. Even if you only want the c-client
libraries, you currently need the whole application. You need to have
one of these ebuilds installed to provide them: net-mail/vimap
net-mail/pine-maildir net-mail/uw-imap As you do not nessicarily want
one of these IMAP servers just to have IMAP support in an application,
this obviously needs to be improved upon.

PHP is one notable application that requires the c-client library
(actually the only thing in the portage tree at the moment, but there
are other applications out there).

UW used to provide a seperate c-client download, however they stopped
that and just instructed people to use the full UW-Imap download.

Many users may be able to uninstall net-mail/uw-imap,
net-mail/pine-maildir or net-mail/vimap as a result of this, providing
they do not use those applications.

There are 2 possible solutions for this:
1. Removal the code that installs the c-client stuff from the other
things that provide it, and just use net-libs/c-client.
2. Add net-libs/c-client and use virtuals so that any of the noted
ebuilds can provide it, defaulting to net-libs/c-client.

Solution #2 is much cleaner in the long term, as it doesn't clutter up
the system and it is much easier to maintain. 

Bugs for this issue:
20372, 15602, 72, 15177

Full plan for solution #2:
- net-libs/c-client ebuild (already done, hardmasked in tree).
- Add virtual to profiles
- Modify net-mail/vimap, net-mail/pine-maildir, net-mail/uw-imap, *php*
  for the virtual.

Presently I plan to name the virtual 'virtual/imap-c-client', but any
other suggestions are welcome.

(I tried writing this as a GLEP, but gave up on it for too much work for
the moment.)

-- 
Robin Hugh Johnson
E-Mail     : robbat2@orbis-terrarum.net
Home Page  : http://www.orbis-terrarum.net/?l=people.robbat2
ICQ#       : 30269588 or 41961639
GnuPG FP   : 11AC BA4F 4778 E3F6 E4ED  F38E B27B 944E 3488 4E85

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