On Thu, 4 Mar 2010 17:07:22 +0000, Mick wrote:

> > The tool you want to answer this question is
> >
> > emerge -t
> 
> Right, but I started this mammoth emerge before I spent enough time
> looking at its contents I'm afraid.

The use emerge --depclean -pv dev-db/mysql

> > There will be a reason why mysql is being pulled in, most likely a
> > package that must have it.
> 
> If a package must have it, wouldn't the USE flag mysql switch to + ?

USE flags control optional dependencies. If a package must have it, there
won't be a USE flag.

> > If a user wants postgres, he should install and run postgres. How
> > would this affect the presence or absence of mysql?
> 
> Well, I am assuming that if postgres can do what mysql does, then it
> could work in its place.  Like if syslog-ng will do what metalog does,
> then the virtual/log-thingie will not insist in pulling in metalog.

The difference is that the virtual/logger is satisfied by a number of
loggers, while virtual/mysql is satisfied by different mysql variants.
The other difference is that the various loggers present the same face to
other programs, whereas postgresql has a different API to mysql.

> Anyway, the postgres is just an example of asking why are we locking
> down the choice of a database to a particular package/provider.

WE are not doing anything of the sort. The upstream developers have
decided mysql is the storage system they want to use. Supporting multiple
databases would require time or experience they do not have, unless
someone else is prepared to contribute some of their own.


-- 
Neil Bothwick

God: What one human uses to persecute another.