Ryan Hill wrote:
> On Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:03:53 -0500
> Jeremy Olexa <darkside@g.o> wrote:
> 
>> I'm thinking that a virtual/fonts package would be a good addition to 
>> the tree. We have hit this issue in Gentoo Prefix where any font
>> package would satisfy a dependency. I also have an open bug where a
>> package depends on corefonts but the reporter has stated that another
>> fonts package will work. Frankly, I would rather *not* depend on the 
>> proprietary M$ fonts, myself. So my proposal would be to make every 
>> fonts package satisfy some virtual and then other packages can depend
>> on that virtual to satisfy the need for *some* fonts. I just don't
>> have a game plan for the best way to do it.
>>
>> Do you people agree that this could be useful?
>> Does anyone have a suggestion for the best way to get it done?
> 
> Is it something like currently deps on corefonts but liberation-fonts
> works?  I think there was a bug open somewhere for that at some point.
> I could see a virtual on a some agreed upon choice of core fonts, but
> to have every font package in it...

Yes, that is my open bug that I have at the moment. bug #215661. But it 
is not the first time I have come across this. Maybe every font package 
satisfying a virtual is silly, I don't know. Maybe there are only a 
couple of package which can be interchanged, is it known which ones? If 
that was the case, then it is trivial to do || ( corefonts 
liberation-fonts ) and the case is closed here.

> 
> There are also lot of packages that depend on ttf-bitstream-vera that
> might work just as easily with dejavu.
> 

I have heard this as well.