On 22 Dec 2008, at 17:51, Alan McKinnon wrote:
...
I would prefer it if Portage handled this without USE flag masking
being necessary. If the required package is masked, or needs some
other keyword, then IMO `emerge -p mplayer` should simply give an
"unable to fulfil this USE - packages may be masked or keyworded"
error. IMO `emerge mplayer` should simply install the package without
fulfilling the USE. But clearly there are reasons why this is
impractical.
...
The machine will do what the admin said it must do. It will do no
more and no
less.
An active USE means that the admin wants packages built with that
support. The
admin's wishes are very explicit in this regard, there is nothing
implied
about it. So if the USE cannot be fulfilled, the only appropriate
answer
is "I'm sorry, I cannot do that" and end with an error code.
But the masking tells Portage to ignore what the admin says, anyway.
So what's the difference?
Stroller.
