[gentoo-user] Emerging virtual/editor installs nano - why?

[gentoo-user] Emerging virtual/editor installs nano - why?

[Alexander Skwar]

Hello.

I installed stage-3 2007.0 and am now trying to configure
it to my liking. For example, I dislike nano and would like
to use vim instead. vim (among other editors) provides
virtual/editor. So I thought, that I could add

        virtual/editor  app-editors/vim

to /etc/portage/profile/virtuals. BUT:

winnb000488 portage # cat /etc/portage/profile/virtuals 
virtual/editor app-editors/vim
winnb000488 portage # emerge -vpt virtual/editor

These are the packages that would be merged, in reverse order:

Calculating dependencies... done!
[ebuild  N    ] virtual/editor-0  0 kB 
[ebuild  N    ]  app-editors/nano-2.0.6  USE="-debug -justify -minimal ncurses nls -slang spell unicode" 1,285 kB 

Total: 2 packages (2 new), Size of downloads: 1,285 kB

Why's that? Why is nano being installed to satisfy the
virtual/editor need?

When I add

        virtual/mta mail-mta/esmtp

to the virtuals file and try to emerge virtual/mta, esmtp
should be installed:

winnb000488 portage # echo virtual/mta mail-mta/esmtp >> profile/virtuals 
winnb000488 portage # emerge -vpt virtual/mta

These are the packages that would be merged, in reverse order:

Calculating dependencies... done!
[ebuild  N    ] mail-mta/esmtp-0.5.0-r1  USE="-mailwrapper" 123 kB 
[ebuild  N    ]  net-libs/libesmtp-1.0.4  USE="-debug ssl" 344 kB 

Total: 2 packages (2 new), Size of downloads: 467 kB

Without that line in the virtuals file, ssmtp is going to be
installed:

winnb000488 portage # grep -v esmtp profile/virtuals > /tmp/dummy ; cat /tmp/dummy > profile/virtuals ; rm /tmp/dummy
winnb000488 portage # cat profile/virtuals
virtual/editor app-editors/vim
winnb000488 portage # emerge -vpt virtual/mta

These are the packages that would be merged, in reverse order:

Calculating dependencies... done!
[ebuild  N    ] mail-mta/ssmtp-2.61-r2  USE="-ipv6 -mailwrapper -md5sum ssl" 53 kB 
[ebuild  N    ]  net-mail/mailbase-1  USE="pam" 0 kB 

Total: 2 packages (2 new), Size of downloads: 53 kB

So, what am I doing wrong with regards to virtual/editor? I know
that I could just install app-editors/vim and be done, but I'd
like to know why emerge virtual/editor doesn't work the way I expect
it to work (or why my expectation is wrong).

Alexander

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gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list

Re: [gentoo-user] Emerging virtual/editor installs nano - why?

[Emil Beinroth]

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Hi,

there is a virtual/editor package in the tree, that selects nano as the
default choice. A virtual/mta package does not exist ATM.

http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/glep/glep-0037.html

HTH, Emil

-- 
Emil Beinroth
83059 Kolbermoor | Germany
 
My dog run away with the README ..

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[gentoo-user] Re: Emerging virtual/editor installs nano - why?

[Alexander Skwar]

Emil Beinroth <emilbeinroth@gmx.net> wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> there is a virtual/editor package in the tree, that selects nano as the
> default choice. 

How does it do that? How do I make it select something else?

> A virtual/mta package does not exist ATM. 

True. There are just packages which PROVIDE virtual/mta.

Alexander

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Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Emerging virtual/editor installs nano - why?

[Stroller]

On 7 Dec 2007, at 13:29, Alexander Skwar wrote:
> Emil Beinroth <emilbeinroth@gmx.net> wrote:
>>
>> there is a virtual/editor package in the tree, that selects nano  
>> as the
>> default choice.
>
> How does it do that? How do I make it select something else?

I think you simply emerge vi (or vim or emacs or joe or whatever) and  
then portage will no longer try to emerge nano (or any other editor).

EG:
   emerge -C && emerge vi && emerge world

Stroller.
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gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Emerging virtual/editor installs nano - why?

[Alexander Skwar]

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Hello.

On Dec 7, 2007 3:56 PM, Stroller <stroller@stellar.eclipse.co.uk> wrote:

>
> On 7 Dec 2007, at 13:29, Alexander Skwar wrote:
> > Emil Beinroth <emilbeinroth@gmx.net> wrote:
> >>
> >> there is a virtual/editor package in the tree, that selects nano
> >> as the
> >> default choice.
> >
> > How does it do that? How do I make it select something else?
>
> I think you simply emerge vi (or vim or emacs or joe or whatever) and
> then portage will no longer try to emerge nano (or any other editor).


Yes, I know. That's one way. But why am I able to "preselect"
the virtual/mta by editing the virtuals file and why can't this same
thing be done for virtual/editor? Basically, I'd like to *preselect*
what should be taken as a virtual.

Best regards,

Alexander

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Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Emerging virtual/editor installs nano - why?

[Emil Beinroth]

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On Fri, Dec 07, 2007 at 02:29:54PM +0100, Alexander Skwar wrote:
> Emil Beinroth <emilbeinroth@gmx.net> wrote:
> > there is a virtual/editor package in the tree, that selects nano as the
> > default choice. 
> 
> How does it do that?

It's done by using the RDEPEND variable inside the virtual/editor
ebuild.

RDEPEND="|| ( app-editors/nano
    app-editors/dav
    ..."

That says that the package needs any of the packages in parentheses to
run. If none of them are installed, the first one in the list is
selected to be installed. (AFAIK)

You can read about this in "man 5 ebuild", on [1] and the glep posted
before (that should be an particularly interesting read).

> How do I make it select something else?

I would say you don't. Just emerge the package you want (as you already
mentioned).

Cheers, Emil

[1] http://devmanual.gentoo.org/general-concepts/dependencies/index.html

-- 
Emil Beinroth
83059 Kolbermoor | Germany
 
BUFFERS=20 FILES=15 2nd down, 4th quarter, 5 yards to go!

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[gentoo-user] Re: Re: Emerging virtual/editor installs nano - why?

[Alexander Skwar]

Emil Beinroth <emilbeinroth@gmx.net> wrote:

> On Fri, Dec 07, 2007 at 02:29:54PM +0100, Alexander Skwar wrote:
>> Emil Beinroth <emilbeinroth@gmx.net> wrote:
>> > there is a virtual/editor package in the tree, that selects nano as the
>> > default choice.
>> 
>> How does it do that?
> 
> It's done by using the RDEPEND variable inside the virtual/editor
> ebuild.
> 
> RDEPEND="|| ( app-editors/nano
>     app-editors/dav
>     ..."
> 
> That says that the package needs any of the packages in parentheses to
> run. If none of them are installed, the first one in the list is
> selected to be installed. (AFAIK)

Thx. Understood.

[...]
>> How do I make it select something else?
> 
> I would say you don't. Just emerge the package you want (as you already
> mentioned).

Okay. And why am I able to preselect the mta the way I 
demonstrated?

Alexander

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[gentoo-user] Re: Emerging virtual/editor installs nano - why?

[Alexander Skwar]

Bo Ørsted Andresen <bo.andresen@zlin.dk> wrote:

> On Friday 07 December 2007 10:49:42 Alexander Skwar wrote:
>> I installed stage-3 2007.0 and am now trying to configure
>> it to my liking. For example, I dislike nano and would like
>> to use vim instead. vim (among other editors) provides
>> virtual/editor. So I thought, that I could add
>>
>>         virtual/editor  app-editors/vim
>>
>> to /etc/portage/profile/virtuals. BUT:
> [SNIP]
>> So, what am I doing wrong with regards to virtual/editor? I know
>> that I could just install app-editors/vim and be done, but I'd
>> like to know why emerge virtual/editor doesn't work the way I expect
>> it to work (or why my expectation is wrong).
> 
> profile/virtuals is for old style virtuals only. editor was converted to a
> new style virtual. New style virtuals are just ebuilds was an any-of
> runtime dependency on all providers. On initial install portage will
> choose the first visible provider that's listed in the ebuild. So either
> put it in an overlay or just install the provider you want and let that
> satisfy it...

Thx. Understood as well.

So the expectation should be, that it's not going to be possible
to preselect an mta the way I've shown, as soon as virtual/mta
is converted to a new style virtual.

Is that right? Is there work going on to change all the old
style virtuals to new style ones?

I don't know, but from a user perspective, these new style virtuals
offer less flexibility. I've read the GLEP, but don't quite understand
why something with lesser flexibility has been introduced. I understood,
that old style virtuals might have had some performance problems for
portage.

Well. I guess there's nothing that can be done about it.

Thanks,

Alexander

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Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Emerging virtual/editor installs nano - why?

[Bo Ørsted Andresen]

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On Friday 07 December 2007 16:21:31 Alexander Skwar wrote:
> So the expectation should be, that it's not going to be possible
> to preselect an mta the way I've shown, as soon as virtual/mta
> is converted to a new style virtual.
>
> Is that right? Is there work going on to change all the old
> style virtuals to new style ones?

You are right except for the fact that virtual/mta will not be converted any 
time soon (if ever). Old style virtuals allow their providers to block all 
other providers by blocking the virtual. This isn't possible with the current 
format for new style virtuals so it isn't going to happen. editor didn't need 
that feature and thus could easily be converted...

-- 
Bo Andresen

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Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Re: Emerging virtual/editor installs nano - why?

[Emil Beinroth]

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On Fri, Dec 07, 2007 at 04:15:59PM +0100, Alexander Skwar wrote:
> Emil Beinroth <emilbeinroth@gmx.net> wrote:
[snip]
> > I would say you don't. Just emerge the package you want (as you already
> > mentioned).
> 
> Okay. And why am I able to preselect the mta the way I 
> demonstrated?

Because virtual/mta is not a real package. It's just some sort of alias
that can be change through files in a profile.

The new-style virtuals OTOH are real packages that RDEPEND upon the
packages that provide the functionality. They are not aliases that can
be changed through files in your profile.

Cheers, Emil

-- 
Emil Beinroth
83059 Kolbermoor | Germany
 
"You believe in a book that has talking animals, wizards, witches, demons,
sticks turning into snakes, food falling from the sky, people walking on water,
and all sorts of magical, absurd and primitive stories, and you say that we are
the ones that need help?"
    -- Dan Barker, Losing Faith in Faith

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Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Emerging virtual/editor installs nano - why?

[Alexander Skwar]

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On Dec 7, 2007 4:37 PM, Bo Ørsted Andresen <bo.andresen@zlin.dk> wrote:
> On Friday 07 December 2007 16:21:31 Alexander Skwar wrote:
> > So the expectation should be, that it's not going to be possible
> > to preselect an mta the way I've shown, as soon as virtual/mta
> > is converted to a new style virtual.
> >
> > Is that right? Is there work going on to change all the old
> > style virtuals to new style ones?
>
> You are right except for the fact that virtual/mta will not be converted any
> time soon (if ever). Old style virtuals allow their providers to block all
> other providers by blocking the virtual. This isn't possible with the current
> format for new style virtuals so it isn't going to happen. editor didn't need
> that feature and thus could easily be converted...

Ah, okay. Pretty bad situation, though, isn't it? I mean,
with the way it is now, we've got some virtuals which
work with virtuals and some, which don't. Do you happen
to know, if there's a bug which should rectify this
broken situation?

Alexander
éí¢‹¬z¸\x1ežÚ(¢¸&j)bž	b²

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Emerging virtual/editor installs nano - why?

[Bo Ørsted Andresen]

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On Friday 07 December 2007 18:58:57 Alexander Skwar wrote:
> > You are right except for the fact that virtual/mta will not be converted
> > any time soon (if ever). Old style virtuals allow their providers to
> > block all other providers by blocking the virtual. This isn't possible
> > with the current format for new style virtuals so it isn't going to
> > happen. editor didn't need that feature and thus could easily be
> > converted...
>
> Ah, okay. Pretty bad situation, though, isn't it? I mean,
> with the way it is now, we've got some virtuals which
> work with virtuals and some, which don't. Do you happen
> to know, if there's a bug which should rectify this
> broken situation?

If by 'broken' you mean 'inconsistent' then I can assure you that there are 
plenty of much more important bugs open... ;) But I guess bug #148251 should 
be of interest in reference to virtual/mta. Personally I happen to hate old 
style virtuals and want them dead asap. As you can see on the bug there's not 
much indicating that'll happen anytime soon though..

-- 
Bo Andresen

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