FW: [gentoo-dev] Portage quibbles

[Todd Wright]

> --deep won't find mozilla if it's been installed as a dependency of
> evolution and it's a dependency of nothing else in the world
> file, even
> levels below; it will simply slip through the cracks, as it were.
>
> I had this experience when installing a new Gentoo system and having
> emerged mplayerplug-in; after unmerging it, an upgrade to mplayer
> appeared and emerge world -up --deep refused to see it.

I think this is more a 'user' or 'administration' issue.

If you install a package (such as mplayer) by emerging one of its successors (ie the plugins) you are asking for trouble. If you want mplayer it should be emerged on its own then emerge the plugin seperately. Even if a package is merged automatically as a dependancy of another larger package, (as in the case of evolution/mozilla) there is nothing stopping you from manually adding a package to the world file, and I would think that occasional edits to a config file (such as the world file) are to be expected in a unix-like environment.... or am I missing the point?

I dont believe Gentoo (or any complex OS distribution) should be coded to the point of being 'idiot proof' there is an expectation that the user knows what they are doing in managing a complex operating system. I dont even believe a complex OS like windows (as point and click as it is) is 'ready for the masses'. System Administration requires knowledge and skill, and to a point involves some personal preference. Expecting the OS to do it for you is expecting too much IMHO.

Just my $0.02

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