Re: [gentoo-dev] [RFC] Global USE=gui

On Fri, Jun 03, 2016 at 10:35:45AM -0400, Ian Stakenvicius wrote

> USE=gui is about building the graphical user interface that an
> application offers, when it is optional.  That's it.  What
> dependencies that means and so on have nothing to do with the flag.

  That reasoning may have been valid many years ago when qt was the only
toolkit around.  All GUI-optional apps back then either used qt or wrote
their own primitives directly to X.  Fast-forward to 2016.  You now have
X/Wayland/Mir/qt4/qt5/gtk2/gtk3/fltk/whatever.  If a package can have a
GUI from more than one of the above, you *NEED* to select implementation
type *SOMEWHERE* (make.conf/package.use/profile).  Deal with it.

> You get that use flags are not supposed to represent dependencies
> right, but features of the package??

  Gentoo currently assumes that users are reasonably competent, and that
if they've selected specific graphics libs to be linked to a package,
that they've done it for a reason; i.e. to enable a GUI.

> Think about a wayland system -- there's lots of packages that
> IUSE="X" to build their gui implementation.  If someone wanting
> wayland set USE="-X" then they don't get the gui app even if it'll
> work in wayland just fine.

  If someone wants to run a wayland system, why wouldn't they set
USE="-X -mir wayland" in make.conf in the first place?!?!?

  Here's my problem with USE="gui"... I've set up various packages which
have the gui/no-gui option.  If USE="-gui" overrides USE="X gtk3 qt4 fltk",
then I would have to set USE="gui" *IN ADDITION TO* telling packages
which GUI toolkit to use.  Since I may want some packages GUI, and some
non-GUI, that would be one more USE flag to set in package.use and/or
make.conf.

  The reason for the pushback is that this "feature" would be rammed
down peoples' throats, Poettering-style.  I propose a compromise
solution that both sides should be happy with.  It would require 2 USE
flags, namely "forcegui" and "forcenogui".

  If "forcegui" is set, all optional-GUI apps will be built with GUIs,
regardless of USE="-X -Mir -Wayland -gtk2 -gtk3 -qt4 -qt5".

  If "forcenogui" is set, no optional-GUI apps will be built with GUIs,
regardless of USE="X Mir Wayland gtk2 gtk3 qt4 qt5".

  If USE="-forcegui -forcenogui" is set, things will be as they are
today.  GUIs will be built, or not, depending on what toolkit flags are
set or not set.  Gentoo is about choice.

-- 
Walter Dnes <waltdnes@××××××××.org>
I don't run "desktop environments"; I run useful applications