Re: [gentoo-dev] Local USE defaults

[Brian Harring]

On Thu, Aug 18, 2005 at 01:16:05PM -0400, Alec Warner wrote:
> As long as there is a way provided disable the 'default use flags' in
> this case referring to the IUSE="+foo" stuff, with a big warning that
> says crap generally isn't expected to work great with that setting on,
> then thats fine.  I can see something like a profile setting for this,
> since embedded may not want the same IUSE defaults as AMD64
> multilib...this also saves the profiles from becoming huge with "Hi turn
> this default flag off, and that flag off, and this flag on..." crud.
See... -* shouldn't affect default IUSE.  Why?  Because if you make it 
flip off the ebuilds default use flags, you're forcing the ebuild to 
start using no* flags instead.  Ebuilds are unconfigured- there are 
default IUSE serves purely as a way for the ebuild maintainer to allow 
the ebuild to be broken down further- they can do it now, by adding a 
crapload of no* flags.

Allowing -* to castrate default IUSE forces them back into no* flags.

Literally, for the embedded example, they already probably have all of 
the no* flags flipped on if needed- an action was taken, you just 
change it so it's USE="-theflag" rather then USE="noflag".  Either 
way, the work involved is effectively the same.  Either way, profiles 
shouldn't be screwing with the ebuilds in that fashion imo.

Note this assuming this feature isn't used as a way to do 'suggested 
deps', where you start flipping on by default a lot of functionality 
the user didn't explicitly request (ala autouse).  A default of +perl 
on mysql I'd view as wrong, for example.
~harring