[gentoo-dev] Re: Re: New category proposal

[Duncan <1i5t5.duncan@cox.net>]

Brian Harring posted <20050511050920.GC17034@exodus.wit.org>, excerpted
below,  on Wed, 11 May 2005 00:09:20 -0500:

> One thing that just clicked in the skull on why flat-tree has issues;
> currently it's possible to have a package with the same name, yet a
> differing category (app-vim/sudo vs app-admin/sudo).
> 
> Since our tree layout is based upon category, if you tried shifting the
> focus of it to packages_in anyway_, you would explicitly disallow same
> name packages, different category.  Doesn't matter how you structure the
> tree, if you do lookup into the tree based on package, not category, you
> disallow same named packages.

While I'm not a flat tree supporter per se, duplicate packages are IMO a
bad thing in any case, for two reasons.

1) Human.  It's frustrating to do emerge sudo and have it tell you to
specify, when there's only /one/ "normal" sudo.  The /other/ sudo should
be vim-sudo or whatever, as you mention later.

2) Bin-pkgs.  As currently structured, we have a de-facto "flat" bin-pkgs
layout anyway, since the tree is simply a bunch of symlinks pointing to
the $PKGDIR/All dir that /all/ the packages land in.  Clashing packages is
NOT a good thing, as I'm sure you are aware.  /Something/ really needs to
be done about this one.  Any possible light at the end of the tunnel here?

BTW, it'd be very handy to have "slotted" bin-pkgs as well, "slotted" as
in allowing me to do things like test a gcc4 created package, without
erasing my gcc-3.4 created bin-pkg, in case something doesn't work, and
without having to remember to manually copy/move the existing bin-pkg
first to keep that backup.  A feature to enable some arbitrary identifier
in the binpkg name, or an arbitrary string as a binpkg subdir path
fragment, would be very helpful.  Something like FEATURES=binpkg-name then
enabling a BINPKG-NAME=gcc4, to then either create a $PKGDIR/gcc4 subtree,
or $PKGDIR/All/package-version.gcc4.tbz2 type package and appropriate
symlink.  One could then just remember to change the $BINPKG-NAME entry in
make.conf whenever one runs gcc-config, or whenever one triggers whatever
switch and desires a corresponding binpkg-slot change.  Anything like this
in the works?  Should I file an enhancement bug?  Maybe the ability is
there already and I just don't know it, as with the very cool make.conf
"source" feature I saw mentioned on the amd64 list?

BTW2, does the "." shortcut work in make.conf?  I can envision a make.conf
that's simply a half dozen or so lines of "source
/etc/portage/make.network.conf", ". /etc/portage/make.useflags.conf", etc.
Is that documented anywhere, yet?  When (version) was it introduced?

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman in
http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2004/12/22/rms_interview.html


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