Markos Chandras <[email protected]> wrote: > we bloat the make.conf file with new variables every now and then
Although it often makes sense to set USE_EXPAND-variables in make.conf, it is not *necessary* to do it in this way and in this file: It can also happen in USE or in /etc/portage/package.use In fact, this is something which many users apparently do not know (just check the forums): I think the USE_EXPAND mechanism needs to be documented better. Of course, this is somehow independent of the current discussion. > As a result, the time spent to maintain make.conf has been > increased over time leading to more headaches on world updates etc. Whether you edit a USE_EXPAND variable or a USE variable in make.conf or something in /etc/portage/package.use does not really make much of a difference. And some of these three *must* be edited when the || ( ...:= ) trouble should be avoided, no matter which approach is chosen. > imho, in this particular case, the old behavior is fine by me and it's > what has been around for a long time. What has been around for a long time was the fragile || ( ...:= ) The meaning of libav as selection of the implementation is something new which forces about half of the users to edit USE or package.use anyway.
