[gentoo-user] Re: using package.provided

Alan McKinnon <alan@××××××××××××××××.za> writes:

> You need to learn more about portage. Read:
>
> man portage
> man 5 portage
> man ebuild
> man 5 ebuild

Now I have a better idea how things are meant to work... but if I want
to violate that... by that I mean ..not work on my own ebuild enough
to begin to understand how its done... not put in the time and effort
required to do my own ebuild.

I like to build my own emacs, I've used emacs since about 1996, Long
before I started with gentoo (about 2 yrs now ago).

I like where a default emacs build and install puts stuff, I like the
emacs maintainers ideas of preloaded stuff.  I don't want to find some
buried package conflict due to something gentoo devs think should be
preloaded or whatever.

I have a long list of special lisp packages in places I expect.
I update from cvs often.

In short I prefer not having to even think about all the above. 
I prefer the simplicity of hand installation and know exactly what to
expect.  

cd /usr/local/cvs/emacs and cvs update -Pd
./configure
make 
make install

All that said, what then would be the best way to let gentoo know I
have installed a very recent emacs and any dependancies gentoo may
need are available at /usr/local/share/emacs.

I've been doing it by putting this in
/etc/portage/profile/package.provided

  app-editors/emacs-cvs-24
  app-editors/emacs-24

(not sure if the double entry matters)

Is it correct that at least theoretically:
When emacs passes version 24 gentoo would then begin installing emacs
from portage?

Is that likely to fall victim to Neils humorous point about causing
hard to diagnose system problems?

Is there a better way to accomplish my goal?  The masking approach was
explained as being a way to continue to use OLDER packages which is
not the case here.

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