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Zac Medico <zmedico@g.o> posted 48E00B9B.3060600@g.o, |
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excerpted below, on Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:56:27 -0700: |
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> For example, `emerge kde-meta` would behave as as normal meta-package |
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> currently does, and `emerge @kde-meta` would reference the same package |
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> as a set and could thereby trigger different behavior which is |
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> appropriate for a set. |
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Ahh... that's rather clearer now. Somehow I missed that bit before. |
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However, it seems to me we'd have some of the same types of issues we've |
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previously discussed over the distinction between world and @world. It's |
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going to be virtually impossible to get some users to see the difference, |
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with the consequence being that they use the wrong reference (probably |
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skipping the @ as unnecessary typing) and end up with (to them) |
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completely unexpected behaviour. How long have we been drilling into |
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users' heads that they need to use --pretend (or --ask) --verbose to |
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check that what they intend is really what's going to happen? Yet I just |
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dealt with a case the other day where someone ended up with something |
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entirely (to them) unexpected, because they failed to preview what was |
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going to happen, first. |
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Going out of our way to (effectively) make things even /more/ confusing |
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by deliberately creating set-packages that can be referred to as either, |
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with different behavior in each case, would seem to be the equivalent of |
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deliberately setting traps for those poor users. (Yes, they /should/ |
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know the difference and it's a PEBCAK if they don't/won't, but |
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unfortunately that PEBCAK is/can-safely-be-predicted-to-be rather |
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common...) |
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So sure, we can institute it as suggested, damn the torpedos, but I |
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believe it's safely predictable that come a few months hence, after we've |
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dealt with our tenth person to end up screwing their system as a result, |
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we're going to rue the day... Never-the-less, it's not my decision. |
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-- |
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Duncan - List replies preferred. No HTML msgs. |
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"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master -- |
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and if you use the program, he is your master." Richard Stallman |
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