You are asking for an interactive mode for creating package
   files... In addition it violates the fink policy that a deb file
   with a given name/version/revision should be identical regardless
   how and where it was built.

It would be possible to save the interactively generated file with a
different name, eg. with my localhost as a suffix.

   If you want to have different configuration options, edit the package 
   file (that's not so hard). 

Yes, I just learned how, and its a piece of cake - that's what made
me think it would be good as a fink option.

   Then either discuss it with the maintainer if these changes could
   be incorporated into the 'official' package file or if a variant
   package file should be provided, f.e. lynx-cookies.

You hit the nail on the head there.  It isn't just the compile-time
options, but several details of the lynx configuration file that
need to be fiddled with.  However, the problem with making a new
package is we'd probably have to have four, which seems a bit silly

lynx
lynx-cookies
lynx-ssl
lynx-ssl-cookies

I think that a sensible criterion to use when deciding when to
provide variants of extant packages is exactly the one that you
implicitly suggested: whether or not the variant has some
dependencies that aren't satisfied.  

However, in the scenario I am imagining, one could run a check
(though this would require a good bit of coding to set up) and add
the needed packages dynamically and automatically, just leaving the
user to figure out the compile options.  An even more intelligent
system would provide suitably useful global configuration files (not
necessarily what comes by default).

I recognize that this may all sound pretty ambitious (and some of it
may go against current Fink policy) -- but something like the system
I've proposed would make a really excellent package manager, so its
something to think about.


-------------------------------------------------------
The SF.Net email is sponsored by EclipseCon 2004
Premiere Conference on Open Tools Development and Integration
See the breadth of Eclipse activity. February 3-5 in Anaheim, CA.
http://www.eclipsecon.org/osdn
_______________________________________________
Fink-devel mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/fink-devel

Reply via email to