Matti Bickel posted on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 21:14:56 +0200 as excerpted:

> It is made a requirement that per-package eclasses can not modify the
> ``EAPI`` variable. It is assumed ``EAPI``, if it set, is set before
> calling pkg-inherit.
> 
> Backwards Compatibility
> =======================
> 
> The current Package Manager Specification requires package managers to
> ignore anything in the top-level package directory that does not have a
> filename ending in ".ebuild" ([1]_). Thus package manager which do not
> implement the per-package eclass feature can ignore them. They, however,
> will fail to execute ebuilds making use of the new ``pkg-inherit``
> function. It is therefore required this feature be made part of a new
> EAPI.

AFAIK these two paragraphs together contradict each other in regard to 
eapi.

Given that no set eapi is taken to be eapi=0, and this is proposed as part 
of a new eapi, eapi MUST be set before pkg-inherit, if pkg-inherit and 
thus per-pkg eclasses are to be used at all.  The last sentence of the top 
paragraph (of the two) should therefore be rewritten to reflect that 
requirement and avoid any confusion.

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman