[gentoo-dev] rfc: backward-incompatible changes in eclasses

[William Hubbs]

Hey all,

it has been brought to my attention that there have been several
backward-incompatible changes made to the python eclasses lately.

It is true that everything in ::gentoo has been fixed along with the
changes to the eclasses; however, when a change like this goes into a
widely used eclass it breaks overlays with little to no notice;
especially since we do not require developers to be subscribed to this
mailing list.

I do agree that overlay authors are on their own to fix things, but we need to
find a way to notify them when a breaking change is going into a widely
used eclass and give them time to adjust their ebuilds.

If the old way of doing things cannot be supported
along side the new way the correct path forward is a new version of the
eclass then a lastrites on the old version. That would give overlay
authors time to switch to the new eclass.

If the old and new way can be supported in the same code base, a
reasonable way forward is to  allow both ways to exist while ::gentoo is
migrated to the new code path then do the equivalent of a lastrites for
the old code path so overlay authors can adjust their ebuilds.

Thoughts?

William