Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 12th Jan 2008 20:32 UTC, submitted by Excel Hearts Choi
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RE[2]: Gentoo needs a real leader
by da_Chicken on Sun 13th Jan 2008 10:51
in reply to "RE: Gentoo needs a real leader"
It would be disastrous though. Imagine the conflicting use flags if every single package added its own use flags to the system. Installing mysql should never add a mysql use flag. However adding a mysql use flag ought to result in mysql being installed. Your suggestion would completely screw up sane systems.
Not necessarily. In Source Mage GNU/Linux (that is a source-based distro, like Gentoo) dependencies are set locally by users when they install packages, and it works just fine. When you install a package in SMGL, the package manager asks about each dependency whether you want to install it or not. When you upgrade or reinstall the package, the package manager remembers the dependencies you've chosen earlier.
If you don't choose anything when the package manager asks about dependencies, it goes with the default choices. Once a package has been installed, all subsequent packages are compiled by default with that installed package as a dependency. (So it's kind of like adding use flags on the fly as you install new packages.) The time period that the package manager waits for your answer before proceeding with the default choices can be configured.
In SMGL you only need to answer all the dependency questions the first time you install a package -- on subsequent installs the package manager remembers your earlier choices (although you can build the package with the "-r" option if you want to reconfigure it).
It's also possible to configure dependencies globally in SMGL (like setting use flags in Gentoo) but that is really not necessary because the "set dependencies when you install new packages" strategy works fine. In fact, I first thought I'd install Gentoo because it's the most popular source-based distro, but then the Gentoo installation instructions told me I had to set use flags and it just seemed very counterintuitive to me to decide dependencies before I had installed any packages.
So I decided to go with Source Mage instead. :-P
RE[2]: Gentoo needs a real leader
by de_wizze on Sun 13th Jan 2008 15:43
in reply to "RE: Gentoo needs a real leader"
You have to remember that USE flags are like a dependency filter that allows one to pick and choose which of to possible features one would like their packages to be compiled with. I think your point is well made USE flags should be acknowledged by the packages but packages should not change anything. If it is a feature that the package can not do with, then its a hard dependancy.




Member since:
2005-10-02
It would be disastrous though. Imagine the conflicting use flags if every single package added its own use flags to the system. Installing mysql should never add a mysql use flag. However adding a mysql use flag ought to result in mysql being installed. Your suggestion would completely screw up sane systems.