On Sun, Jun 7, 2020 at 1:31 PM n952162 <[email protected]> wrote: > > When I do an emerge --sync, various ebuilds are loaded onto my system, > co-existing with other ebuilds, possibly from the same package. What > determines which package version is to be used? > > I assumed this was specified by the profile (e.g. 17.1), but I can't > find any version numbers in /etc/portage/make.profile/ >
The process is exclusionary, not inclusionary, for the most part, which is why the profiles tend to be simple and not list a lot of packages or versions. Portage installs the highest version of a package which is not blocked for some reason, unless you explicitly tell it to install a particular version of a package (which still will only install if not blocked for some reason). So, if you type: emerge '=app-shells/bash-5.0_p11' Then portage will install that version of bash if it is not blocked for some reason. If you type: emerge app-shells/bash Then portage will install the latest version of bash that is not blocked for some reason. The same applies to dependencies pulled in by packages - if a particular version is pulled in then that version will be installed if possible. If a dependency is mentioned then the latest allowable version will be installed. The dependency can also include version restrictions in which case the latest version allowed with the additional restrictions will be installed. I'll leave out USE dependencies, which impose more rules. So, at that point the only thing that matters is the various mechanisms that block package versions from installing: masks and keywords. Keywords: A package version can only be installed if it contains an accepted keyword. Keywords can be accepted by your profile or by your make.conf. Eg, ~amd64 or amd64. If the package does not declare any keyword that you are accepting, then it will not be used. This is the main mechanism used to determine what version you will get. Packages are keyworded based on whether they work (~arch) or are considered stable (arch) on a particular architecture. Masks: A package version cannot be installed if it is masked. This can be set in /etc/portage/package.mask, or by a profile. Masks are used for a lot of reasons - sometimes to stage package versions for broader testing before being released, and sometimes because they don't work well in a particular profile, and often for security concerns or as a prelude to removal. If you post a specific example I can explain what version will be installed, assuming you don't have any dependencies with version restrictions, and you will need to tell me what your ACCEPT_KEYWORDS and profile are set to. -- Rich
