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Hi everyone, |
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I'd like you all to consider a PROPERTIES=virtual setting that |
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allows an ebuild to indicate that it installs no files and serves |
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only as a layer of dependency indirection. This will be another use |
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for the new PROPERTIES metadata variable that's already been |
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proposed to be added to the set of variables distributed via |
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${PORTDIR}/metadata/cache/ as part of the implementation of |
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PROPERTIES=live-sources [1]. |
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|
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The PROPERTIES=virtual attribute is useful as a means to indicate |
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that a package costs practically nothing to install. This knowledge |
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plays a vital role in distinguishing the most optimal state, when |
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deciding which packages should be chosen to satisfy the dependencies |
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of a virtual. Knowledge of this property is what allows bug #141118 |
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[2] to be solved. |
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|
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In the past it was possible to infer the property represented by |
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PROPERTIES=virtual from the fact that a package was in the virtual |
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category [3]. However, a java-virtuals category [4] has since been |
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added. Also, we have some other meta-packages like kde-*-meta or |
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whatnot that could legitimately advertise this attribute. |
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|
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Does this seem like a desirable way to represent the "virtual" |
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attribute? Any suggestions? |
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|
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Zac |
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|
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[1] |
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http://archives.gentoo.org/gentoo-dev/msg_187585c5d49b69034183719ff473710d.xml |
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[2] http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=141118 |
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[3] http://packages.gentoo.org/category/virtual |
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[4] http://packages.gentoo.org/category/java-virtuals |
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=c/WK |
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