Re: [gentoo-user] Can't emerge xfce4 with installed lprng. :-(

[Alan Mackenzie]

Hi, Sebastian,

On Thu, Jul 24, 2008 at 12:07:35PM +0200, Sebastian Günther wrote:
> * Alan Mackenzie (acm@×××.de) [24.07.08 11:42]:

> > Why the 4 do I have to type xfce4, not xfce?  Anyhow, that's a minor
> > point.

> Just a tip: maybe you should use emerge -s for such things, or eix.
> And iirc there were older xfce implementation besides xfce4 in the tree

OK.

[ .... ]

> > .  I.e., it wants to override my decision to use lprng as print
> > program and put in cups instead.  This is a bit of a cheek!

> > Why isn't xfce configured merely to install "some print daemon",
> > rather than specifically cups?  For that matter, why must it install
> > a print daemon at all?  Not every X user has a printer or wants to
> > print.

> > What can I do about this?  I really don't want to have to install cups.

> xfce4 is just a meta package, meaning the only purpose is to give you
> dependencies on the real packages. And this dependencies are quite
> general to meet the most people's needs.

> Just look in the ebuild to get a starting point. And now by doing it
> myself, I see that it honors the cups useflag. It maybe enabled by your
> profile. So disabling it might resolve your problem.

I'm still very confused by profiles, though I obviously need to get to
grips with them.  What is a profile, _EXACTLY_?  Where in the
documentation can I find a description which says something like ".... a
profile is a directory which contains the following files" and then lists
them?  There are lots of instructions to "set foobar in your profile",
but the only description I've found so far just says "A profile is a
building block for any Gentoo system" in the Gentoo Linux x86 Handbook,
and then goes on to describe what a profile _does_ in abstract terms but
not what it _is_ in terms of directories and files.  That section says
that I "have" the option of choosing another profile too, but not how to
recognise a profile from a random directory or file.  I don't understand
how to select it.

I have a link 

    /etc/make.profile -> /usr/portage/profiles/default/linux/x86/2008.0

, set up as suggested in the handbook.  Is .../2008.0 my profile?  Is
this valid?  There doesn't appear to be anything of substance there.

On the other hand the handbook says a few lines lowere, I should select a
profile with:

   # ln -snf /usr/portage/profiles/<profile name>   /etc/make.profile.

In that directory, /usr/portage/profiles, there are both subdirectories
(e.g. default-linux) and some files (e.g., make.defaults,
packages.builds).  Is "<profile name>" one of the directories rather than
a file?  It looks almost as though there's some sort of hierarchical
inheritance going on.

Please tell me that this is clearly explained somewhere.

Thanks!

> Sebastian

-- 
Alan Mackenzie (Nuremberg, Germany).