Re: [gentoo-user] Re: package.keywords

["Arttu V." <arttuv69@gmail.com>]

On 6/22/09, James <wireless@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:
> Arttu V. <arttuv69 <at> gmail.com> writes:
>
>>                      More reading: ebuild(5)"
>
> Ah, ok so there is not restriction on using any of the
> the boolean operators in any config file underneath
> /etc/portage? as section 5 does not mention any....

Well, for those files that are actually supposed to contain DEPEND
atoms that is probably true. I haven't checked the whole man page and
all files it lists to see if it places any restrictions on some
specific files therein, so I'm a bit timid to claim full "no limits"
either. But for package.keywords it didn't mention any limits and I'd
believe the others don't have them either. :)

Still, the best identifier of the allowed syntax is probably portage
itself. Make a typo in files under /etc/portage and portage will tell
you next time you emerge -pv something or emerge -av something.

And it also breaks in a quite predictable fashion when it reads your
typos in those files: it will just drop the lines it doesn't
understand (while also printing warning messages) and then dutifully
proceed to next line. So if ever in doubt, you can try it and see what
portage's parser thinks about your "fuzz-test". :)

> This is my (mis)conception, although, as you have suggest,
> there are (gentoo) cultural norms that do suggest
> certain boolean operations should not be used,
> in say for example, package.keywords?

Not sure if by cultural norms you're referring to something I'd rather
label as "best practices"? :)

But then again, there are best practices for bleeding edge folks and
best practices for "stability is paramount" folks and they may
overlap, but most likely they aren't quite the same.

> I'm mostly running stable with exceptions being enabled
> via the /etc/portage file structure. Usually it's small,
> but now with kde4, BLOAT is my modus operandi,
> not by choice......

Then, again, you probably don't want the >= as it will unmask the
latest testing version currently available, plus in future any new
testing grade versions as they get added to portage tree. What you
want is either = or ~. (And do note that ~ at the front of a DEPEND
atom means a different thing from the testing keyword in ~arch).

But it is all up to you to decide, you're the commander'n'chief of
your own boxen.

-- 
Arttu V.