Re: [gentoo-user] Re: package.provided messes up emerging of package slots?

[Michael Schreckenbauer <grimlog@gmx.de>]

On Monday, 12. September 2011 23:42:30 Nikos Chantziaras wrote:
> On 09/12/2011 10:02 PM, Michael Schreckenbauer wrote:
> > On Monday, 12. September 2011 21:31:59 Nikos Chantziaras wrote:
> >> On 09/12/2011 08:17 PM, Michael Schreckenbauer wrote:
> >>> On Monday, 12. September 2011 20:04:47 Nikos Chantziaras wrote:
> >>>> On 09/12/2011 07:42 PM, Michael Schreckenbauer wrote:
> >>>>> On Monday, 12. September 2011 18:41:37 Nikos Chantziaras wrote:
> >>>>>> In my /etc/portage/profile/package.provided, I have this:
> >>>>>>       media-libs/freetype-1.4_pre20080316-r2
> >>>>>> 
> >>>>>> When I try to emerge freetype however, instead of emerging the
> >>>>>> newer
> >>>>>> 
> >>>>>> version, I get:
> >>>>>>       $ emerge freetype
> >>>>>>       
> >>>>>>       WARNING: A requested package will not be merged
> >>>>>>       because
> >>>>>>       it is
> >>>>>>       listed
> >>>>>>       
> >>>>>>       in package.provided:
> >>>>>>         freetype pulled in by 'args'
> >>>>>>       
> >>>>>>       Nothing to merge; would you like to auto-clean
> >>>>>>       packages?
> >>>>>>       [Yes/No]
> >>>>>> 
> >>>>>> Trying "emerge freetype:2" also won't work.  The only only to
> >>>>>> emerge
> >>>>>> it
> >>>>>> seems is by using the whole version ("emerge
> >>>>>> =freetype-2.4.6").
> >>>>>> Is
> >>>>>> this
> >>>>>> a bug?
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> At least it's inconsistent. I would expect that the emerge with
> >>>>> complete version also fails.
> >>>> 
> >>>> It's slotted, so it shouldn't fail.  Freetype 1 and 2 can be
> >>>> installed
> >>>> at the same time.
> >>> 
> >>> Yes, that's true for the packages provided by portage. portage does
> >>> not
> >>> know anything about the freetype you provide, so it shouldn't
> >>> install
> >>> any freetype from any slot by any command.
> >> 
> >> I don't see how it doesn't know anything about it, given that it
> >> requires me to list a full package atom in package.provided.  So it
> >> always knows which version should be considered as being provided.
> > 
> > Yes. freetype version 1. So if a package depends on freetype version 1,
> > portage assumes, the dep is already installed.
> > It does not know, where it is installed, or what files it installed. So
> > it has to assume, that an emerge of freetype-2 actually could overwrite
> > some of your freetype-1 files. Therefore it should not install
> > freetype-2 with any command, if you have any version of freetype in
> > package.provided.
> 
> I disagree.  A slotted package is practically two different packages
> that simply share the same name.  If one slot is assumed as being
> provided, then that slot should have no effect on the other ones.

You cannot provide a slot - you provide a package - freetype in this case. A 
slot is a gentoo specific thing. If you provide a package, you lose the 
advantages of portage. One of them being slots.

> With your argument, portage should not install *any* packages at all if
> there's even a single entry in package.provided, because it doesn't know
> what that package installs and therefore *any other* package could
> results in conflicts.

Say, you had freetype-2.x in your package provided and for some reason you 
configured it to install to /usr/include/freetype, /usr/lib/freetype and so on.
What should emerge do, if you now emerge freetype:1? Install it and overwrite 
your provided package? I only flipped versions here, because configuring 
freetype:1 to install to */freetype-2 sounds a bit strange :)
If you tell portage "I care for freetype myself", then you have to deal with 
it. If you really need freetype:2 together with freetype:1, you have to 
provide freetype:2 also. Only you know, how to configure it, so it does not 
conflict with your freetype:1

Best,
Michael