Re: [gentoo-user] emerge -U?

[Alan McKinnon]

On Tuesday 13 January 2009 19:20:41 Willie Wong wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 09:07:13AM -0800, Penguin Lover Mark Knecht
squawked:
> > On Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 9:03 AM, Willie Wong <wwong@×××××××××.edu> wrote:
> > > Can anyone tell me when emerge -U disappeared?
> > >
> > > I have never used it myself, but I just looked at "man emerge", and I
> > > don't see that option anymore.
> > >
> > > W
> >
> > I have no recollection of -U at all. I've used -DuN for years. What do
> > you remember what you thought -U was doing?
>
> --upgradeonly
>
> meaning: if *best* available version in portage tree has lower version
> number then the installed version, do not downgrade.
>
> For example, look at this bug report from 2004
>  http://bugs.gentoo.org/36334
> which refers to the --upgradeonly flag that is not in "man emerge"
> anymore, and
>  http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.gentoo.user/86473/focus=87085
> a post on this very list from June 30, 2004, also mentiones the -U
> flag.
>
> Come on, I am only 25! I can't be the only *old-timer* who remembers
> this option!

I'm 44 and I remember -U from 2005 (IIRC)

But I never used it so don't miss it. If I were the maintainer, it would be 
something I'd be removing real quick. It would arbitrarily override 
information in ebuilds, not allowing a downgrade that the dev determined was 
correct, it would apply to all packages to be upgraded or to none with no 
granularity. It would also cause all manner of blockers to kick in with an 
active tree.

You are better off doing this package by package with the various files 
in /etc/portage/*. At least with those you know exactly what effect is going 
to take place.



-- 
alan dot mckinnon at gmail dot com