[gentoo-user] Re: flags: v4l and v4l2

[James <wireless@tampabay.rr.com>]

Brennan Shacklett <bp.shacklett <at> gmail.com> writes:


> The quse command in app-portage/gentoolkit is useful for finding a
> quick definition of a use flag. You go "quse -D <name of flag>" and it
> will give you the global definition (if it exists), as well as local
> definitions for packages in which the use flag does something
> different.


OK, let's take a look:

# quse -D v4l
 global:v4l: Enables video4linux support
 video_cards.desc:v4l: VIDEO_CARDS setting to build driver for v4l video cards
# quse -D v4l2
 global:v4l2: Enable video4linux2 support


Hmmmm, not terribly inspiring methinks. You have the right idea,
but to quote and old TV commercial; "where's the Beef?"
Wholely inadequate and no discussion on deprecation of vl4
as Alan so illustriously pointed out.


> Hopefully this helps, I am not sure if this is what you meant.
Exactly what I was looking for, just wholly inadequate,
if not a plain embarrassment. Sure Hard core *nix hack 
can flesh these things out, but since emerge(portage) and 
flag settings are at the HEART of Gentoo, shouldn't we do
better? This stuff get's documented all the time, by folks
like Alan and Paul, but it never becomes assimilated into
the collective! Like it or not, what makes a distro POWERFUL
is this collective. If we assimilated just 1% of the good 
information that graces this group, our docs would be the envy
of the operating systems world! Devs are too busy and
many are angry and frustrated. Brilliant devs never
like to document code, so somehow our "collective"
need to understand things, from a consumer's point of
view, and build docs!

Without Docks, boats have no where to go, particularly the large
one's that most benefit the average citizens.

The gentoo Doc team, is actually receptive to new ideas!
(hurry, it won't last!) As the #1 grouch even solicited
ideas and involvement, since the old (absentee) grouch
has been officially mortified. (not a stab, just a statement
of fact from ANYONE that has tried to deal with the
Gentoo Doc team). That's why I tricked, motivated and posted
here. Seek HIM out and voice your concern GIT vs wiki
for the docs, or whatever you idea is.

PEACE,
James