[gentoo-portage-dev] Fwd: [gentoo-user] per-user package administration

[Jason Stubbs]

Another idea for portage-ng. Allowing multiple installed package databases  
with portage-ng combined with pathspec integration should allow a suitable 
dep resolver plugin to handle this.

Regards,
Jason Stubbs

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------

Subject: [gentoo-user] per-user package administration
Date: Wednesday 03 December 2003 03:59
From: Matt Garman <garman@××××××××××.net>
To: gentoo-user <gentoo-user@g.o>

While daydreaming during a boring meeting, I was thinking how nice it
would be to have a Linux box at work (currently I have only a Win2k
machine).  However, I'm so used to having root that if I got a Linux
machine at work, I'd probably only have normal user access.

In the past, on the various Unix systems I've used where I don't have
root, but want a package installed, I usually just get the source,
compile and install in my home directory.  That's fine for small
packages, but it's just too much work if the package has a lot of
dependancies or needs a makefile tweaked, etc.

Then I thought it wouldn't be too hard (in theory <grin>) to have
per-user access to the package tool (portage in gentoo's case).  The
user would have his own set of package accounting data; it wouldn't
affect the system-wide database.  For example, say I want to install
package slrn, which has a dependancy on the slang package.  I don't have
admin access, and my sysadmin doesn't want it installed.  It would be
nice if I could, however, do an "emerge slrn" and have portage download,
build and install slrn and slang all in my home directory.  Assuming I
have the disk space, I could do this manually anyway.  But, obviously,
portage makes it easier.  Plus, say slang was already installed at the
system level, it would be cool if the "per-user" version of the package
tool recognized that.

This would also be nice for testing new or development versions of
packages.  You could do a local install (to a test account, for example)
and play with the software without affecting the integrity of the rest
of the system.

I really have a need for such a feature, but someone else might.  I just
thought I'd throw the idea out there... maybe someone will be inspired

:)

Matt



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