Re: [gentoo-user] Multiple package instances within a single package slot

[Kerin Millar <kerframil@fastmail.co.uk>]

On 04/10/2013 11:50, Alex Schuster wrote:
> Hi there!
>
> Some may remember me from posting here often. But since a year, I have a
> new life, and much less time for sitting at my computer. Sigh. And my
> beloved Gentoo got a little outdated.
>
> So, a @world update does not work. I thought I give emerge -e @world a
> try, this should sort out the problems, but this also does not go well.
>
> I don't want to bother you with the whole lot of output emerge gives me,
> and just ask a specific question at the moment. I get the 'Multiple
> package instances within a single package slot have been pulled into the
> dependency graph, resulting in a slot conflict' message, and several
> affected packages. One example is claws:
>
> mail-client/claws-mail:0
>
>    (mail-client/claws-mail-3.9.0-r1::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge)
>    pulled in by ~mail-client/claws-mail-3.9.0 required by
>    (mail-client/claws-mail-address_keeper-1.0.7::gentoo, ebuild scheduled
>    for merge)
>
>    (mail-client/claws-mail-3.9.2::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge)
>    pulled in by (no parents that aren't satisfied by other packages in
>    this slot)
>
> Looking at the ebuild, I see that claws-mail-address_keeper rdepends on
> claws-mail-3.9.0. But being on ~amd86, 3.9.2 would be current.
>
> I can solve this by masking versions greater than 3.9.0. Two questions:
>
> Why can't portage deal with this itself, and simply install the highest
> version that fulfills all requirements?

Your use of --emptytree makes it slightly harder to determine from the 
above output, because the conflict messages will not correctly 
distinguish merged (installed) packages from those that are yet to be 
merged.

Do you have mail-client/claws-mail-address_keeper in your world file? If 
so, that would mandate its installation as part of the @world set (no if 
or buts). In turn, that would exhibit a hard dependency on 
claws-mail-3.9.0, which obviously cannot co-exist with 3.9.2, even if 
you have unmasked it.

Try removing the entry from the world file if it's there, then seeing 
whether the conflict is handled any differently.

>
> And how do I notice an update to claws-mail-address_keeper that would
> allow a newer version of claws-mail? Other than remembering those masks
> and go through them once in a while?

As of the 3.9.1 ebuild, there is a comment above the collection of 
blocks that states:

"Plugins are all integrated or dropped since 3.9.1"

Further, from the 3.9.1 release notes:

"All plugins previously packaged as 'Extra Plugins' are now contained 
within the Claws Mail package."

Thus, it's possible that the address_keeper plugin has been folded into 
the core. In turn, that would explain why it must block the plugin as a 
separate package.

>
> Similar problems happen with sys-boot/syslinux, pulled in by
> sys-boot/unetbootin, media-sound/jack-audio-connection-kit, pulled in by
> app-emulation/emul-linux-x86-soundlibs, and all dev-qt packages, where I
> did not yet figure out what to do.
>
> I am running portage 2.2.7.
>
>      Alex
>