Re: [gentoo-amd64] Re: Upgrading glibc and glib

[Volker Armin Hemmann]

On Monday 06 April 2009, Duncan wrote:
> Volker Armin Hemmann <volkerarmin@××××××××××.com> posted
> 200904060143.34295.volkerarmin@××××××××××.com, excerpted below, on  Mon,
>
> 06 Apr 2009 01:43:34 +0200:
> > just turn on the binary package option (put buildpkg into FEATURES).
> > That way you have nice packages of all packages you ever installed - if
> > something is nuked all you need is a working tar+bzip
>
> 100% agreed!  FEATURES=buildpkg does have a passing reference in the
> handbook (working with portage part?), but that's about all it is (or
> was, last I looked), a /passing/ reference.  As such, this feature is
> definitely my favorite under-documented non-default portage feature!
>
> Not only does it provide a handy recompile-less backup binpkg downgrade
> when needed, but once you have run it for awhile, because the binpkgs are
> simply tarballs with some extra metadata tacked on the end and can still
> be browsed or individual files extracted /as/ tarballs, the buildpkg
> feature comes in very handy for checking/retrieving "default" versions of
> config files or comparing what files various versions came with, when
> troubleshooting or the like.

we are on the same side this time ;)

Back when I was harddisk constraint I saw it as a useless 'nice to have but 
not important feature'. 'There is always quickpkg' I thought. When I got space 
to waste I turned it on 'can't hurt' I thought.

I love it. It is the feature with worst usefullness/advertisement rate. I can 
wholeheartedly recommend it. If you have some free space, turn it on. There 
are no drawbacks, and a LOT of cases where it might be usefull. Inclusive 
'install an almost identical gentoo fast' or 'help friend with hosed 
installation' added to your list above. There should be a section in the 
handbook named 'buildpkg - enable it if you can'.