Re: [gentoo-dev] www-client/chromium gtk3 support

[Rich Freeman <rich0@gentoo.org>]

On Fri, Sep 11, 2015 at 5:03 AM, Daniel Campbell <zlg@gentoo.org> wrote:
>
> I like the general 'gtk' flag we generally use to choose *which*
> toolkit, and local USE flags for specific versions, if they are
> supported. But in that case, the general gtk flag should be
> interpreted as the latest version supported, so users don't come
> across weirdly behaving packages that default to gtk2 (unless that
> version is the most stable).
>
>...
>
> For starters, versioned USE flags more than likely don't belong in
> make.conf's USE variable and shouldn't be global.
>

That was roughly my proposal.

USE=gui or something like that if the main effect is to have a gui or
not.  That is the sort of thing that SHOULD go in make.conf or in a
profile.  If disabling gtk makes it a console-only application then
use the gui flag.

USE=gtk if the main effect is to select /which/ toolkit is used if
more than one is optionally supported.  That /might/ go in a make.conf
or profile, but probably shouldn't in general.  It is more appropriate
for something like the desktop/gnome profile than the desktop profile.

USE=gtk# if you're picking which version to use.  That should /almost
never/ go in a profile (unless you're talking about a testing profile
of some kind, such as on an overlay), or in a global config unless you
REALLY know what you're getting into.  Users setting this globally
should expect to run into bugs.  The package should default these
flags to whatever is most appropriate for the specific package.

I'd be tempted to even say to not have gtk3 but instead call the flag
chromium-gtk3 or whatever so that it becomes very difficult to put in
the global config.  However, that goes against our general principle
of letting the user break their system and keep the pieces if they
think they know what they're doing.  If somebody WANTS to test out a
gtk3-only system or whatever they should have the freedom to do so,
understanding that testing sometimes uncovers problems.

Of course any change will need a transition period, news, handbook
updates, etc.  For the person who wants the "just works" experience
they can pick a profile and it will do the right thing, and if they
want to tailor things a bit more the USE=(-)gui flag will do what it
would be expected to do.

-- 
Rich