Why must Gnome include Evolution?

Emopig · Apprentice Joined: 15 Mar 2006 Posts: 188

I've noticed that if I add the "-eds" USE flag to compile packages without support for Evolution Data Server that NOTHING i personally use depends upon Evolution except the Gnome meta package.

My question is why isn't there an evolution USE flag (on by default if need be)? Is it the wish of the Gnome project that thou shalt not have Gnome without Evolution?

It's frustrating because I don't use it, use webmail, and it takes absolutely forever to compile. I'm not trying to be a whiner, but unmerging the Gnome metapackage to avoid Evolution being pulled in on an "--update world" can cause problems later, some other packages (more essential/generally useful ones) are only listed in the metapackage. I just feel something as heavy as Evolution surely deserves it's own USE flag?

lxg · Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 9:09 pm Post subject:

How are you trying to emerge Gnome? Emerge gnome-light to get just a basic Gnome install. Or, if you already have it, unmerge gnome and pull in gnome-light.
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catzooka · Apprentice Joined: 05 Nov 2002 Posts: 193

isez2001 · n00b Joined: 16 Jul 2006 Posts: 20

mnogueir · n00b Joined: 31 May 2006 Posts: 22

Well, with the USE flags "firefox -eds" i was able to emerge gnome-light without evolution and without seamonkey/epiphany/whatever...

Emopig · Apprentice Joined: 15 Mar 2006 Posts: 188

*bump*

I was wanting to get rid of evolution-data-server as well, but according to equery the following packages depend on it

PaulBredbury · Watchman Joined: 14 Jul 2005 Posts: 6609

equery is showing that the potential dependency is there. It probably doesn't care that you've turned the USE flag off.

plastikman187 · Apprentice Joined: 15 Mar 2005 Posts: 233

Just vi the file then dd out the lines in the ebuild then emerge --digest gnome that is what i normally do

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isez2001 · n00b Joined: 16 Jul 2006 Posts: 20

GoingDown · Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 5:53 am Post subject:

catzooka · Apprentice Joined: 05 Nov 2002 Posts: 193

isez2001 · n00b Joined: 16 Jul 2006 Posts: 20

GoingDown · Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 5:36 am Post subject:

catzooka · Apprentice Joined: 05 Nov 2002 Posts: 193

isez2001 · n00b Joined: 16 Jul 2006 Posts: 20

I think the proper way to handle this is to post a bug report (probably including a link to this discussion). I don't have time to do it before work this morning, but (unless somebody else does first) I'll post one sometime today or tomorrow.

Admiral_Trigger_Happy · Guru Joined: 05 Sep 2004 Posts: 337 Location: Australia

Maybe it should be like KDE is now with their split ebuilds.

you have a whole bunch of meta packages instead of the old huge packages, ie:

kde-meta - has all the sub meta packages as deps.
kdeutils-meta - has all the utils as deps
and so on.

I think you get the picture, there is also a way to get a basic kde, via kdebase-startkde

So maybe the same should be done for Gnome, that way instead of emerging all of Gnome the more advanced users (us) can pick and choose which parts of Gnome they (we) need.
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plastikman187 · Apprentice Joined: 15 Mar 2005 Posts: 233

BBlock · Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 6:34 pm Post subject:

THe Evolution-Data-Server has caused no end to my emerge problems, always failing compiles or coming up with errors when I have removed packages(often that have no apparent connection to GNOME, even through equery). A use flag to always disable this stuff without having to use gnome-lite wold be great.

Admiral's idea would be even better, I feel(only recently having moved on from the gentoo newbie stage myself) that having more packages wouldn't complicate it too much for new users, but would be greatly appreciated by the majority of the established userbase.
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isez2001 · n00b Joined: 16 Jul 2006 Posts: 20

Hmm... split ebuilds take us into entire new territory... territory which is much more involved than a few USE flags.

Could somebody elaborate a little more specifically on how the ebuilds would be split? I understand the concept, but the execution (what, exactly, would the new ebuilds be?) is a little tough for me to envision at the moment.

I'll refrain from posting a bug report right now--the request will carry more weight if we all agree on something first.

geniux · Veteran Joined: 19 Feb 2004 Posts: 1400 Location: /home

sternklang · Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 11:03 pm Post subject:

I think the only way this idea is going to get any traction is if someone actually goes through the trouble of creating the ebuilds with the new USE flags, or split ebuilds, and puts them in an overlay for people to test out. Work the problems out in the overlay, prove the concept is useful in the real world and doesn't break Gnome in the process, then submit bugs to get the new approach adopted.

If nothing else comes of it, the people who do this will end up learning a great deal about both Gentoo and Gnome. So don't wait for our excellent but overworked Gnome devs to do it. This is Gentoo, you have all the tools necessary to do the job in your hands, so if you believe in this approach then make it happen -- and more power to you if it works.

isez2001 · n00b Joined: 16 Jul 2006 Posts: 20

Emopig · Apprentice Joined: 15 Mar 2006 Posts: 188

To the few people who mentioned it, I don't think totem matters as it's a relatively tiny package and it's not uncommon to have mulitple media players installed anyway.

I think it's just handy to have USE flags that say to portage "Don't bother with these big packages as i'm going to unmerge them later anyway if you install them".

I'm going to test that ebuild!

cp -r /usr/portage/gnome-base/gnome /usr/local/portage/gnome-base
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Emopig · Apprentice Joined: 15 Mar 2006 Posts: 188

isez2001's ebuild works great for me, i've commented out the epiphany, evolution and evolution-webcal lines in package.provided and an update world still doesn't try to pull them in, a depclean also wiped out evolution-data-server.

:lol:

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genfive · Apprentice Joined: 10 Nov 2005 Posts: 291

many many many many years ago, Microsoft got into trouble for including IE with the operating system. But isn't gnome doing the same thing now?