Re: [gentoo-dev] [FEATURE-REQUEST][PORTAGE] Apply custom patches

[C. Brewer]

On Tue, 8 Jul 2003 11:49:27 +0800
Michael Kohl <citizen428@××××××.org> wrote:

> On Mon, 7 Jul 2003 23:39:23 +0300
> Svyatogor <svyatogor@g.o> wrote:
>
> > Ok, enough is enough. This should go into FAQ. Don't you think so?
>
> The FAQ already has a paragraph about doing the .configure part
> manually, maybe this should be made a little more general, e.g.
>
> "How can I configure/patch a package myself without modifying the
> ebuild?
>
> You can do this with the Ebuild command (man ebuild)....."
>
> Michael

I'm thinking the whole point has been missed in an effort to "make do" with
the current tools.
MYPATCHES="path/to/patches" emerge foo
would definitely be easier than a
ebuild foo.ebuild {fetch|upack} patch sources etc.
For that kind of effort, it would be far easier to edit the ebuild directly.
I think you'd be surprised that on a ~x86 box the number of patches that
need to be added, or better yet, taken out as they are not needed or break
the package under certain circumstances, not to mention the amount of
patches that are included with some ebuilds as a sweeping general purpose
one-size fits all patching. For example, the build for XFree86 contains
patches for several video cards and tablets which get applied regardless of
the card you specify in USE=" ". In closing, the ebuild command is great
when you need to manually play with the ./configure script, but for sorting
patches, it is akin to using a hammer and vice-grips to remove a nut you
don't have the wrench for. I'd like to see this given serious thought, and
not passed off as another "we need to dumb down the FAQ" attempt. If it can
be done with the USE flags, it shouldn't be too hard to tweak this,no?


Thanks



-- 
Chuck Brewer
Registered Linux User #284015
Get my gpg public key at pgp.mit.edu!! Encrypted e-mail preferred.