Re: [gentoo-dev] Re: .la files and their future on Gentoo

[Richard Freeman <rich0@gentoo.org>]

On 10/03/2010 09:26 PM, Duncan wrote:
> The problem is that "in-tree" is a reasonably bounded set of builds, while 
> "out-of-tree" is unlimited.  Practically speaking, I simply don't see how 
> Gentoo can be concerned with "out-of-tree" in general.

If any other distro had that attitude Gentoo (and other source-based
distros) would be the only ones that provided packages for GCC, since no
other distro requires a functioning toolchain to install packages.

Libraries don't exist just to run packaged programs - they're also
needed to build new programs.  So, this is a use case that needs to be
considered.  Probably one of the reasons that Gentoo is popular among
developers is that it provides a very complete toolchain and libraries/etc.

That said, supporting this use case should not interfere with more
mainstream use of the distro.  I like the USE flag proposal because it
lets us have our cake and eat it too.  Those who don't need .la files
don't get them except where absolutely essential, and those who need and
are willing to live with tons of them can have it their way.

Gentoo is about choice...

Rich