View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
boydrice n00b
Joined: 31 Dec 2012 Posts: 2
|
Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 12:24 am Post subject: [SOLVED] Question on USE flags |
|
|
I am thinking of trying Gentoo but really have no idea what I would specify for USE flags. I am not unfamiliar compiling software as I am primarily a Slackware user, but the idea of global USE flags is a bit strange to me. Do any Gentoo users not mess with USE flags or does this diminish the strength of Gentoo?
Sorry if this is a common question I checked the FAQ section and didn't see anything specific.
Last edited by boydrice on Mon Dec 31, 2012 4:30 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
Back to top |
|
|
BillWho Veteran
Joined: 03 Mar 2012 Posts: 1600 Location: US
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Jaglover Watchman
Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 8291 Location: Saint Amant, Acadiana
|
Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 1:18 am Post subject: |
|
|
Welcome, boydrice!
Choose the profile that suits you best, it will also set the default USE flags for you. You can always change your USE flags and follow up with emerge -N world to apply. Anything you do in Gentoo can be undone or changed (unless you do something stupid and abuse rm command). _________________ My Gentoo installation notes.
Please learn how to denote units correctly! |
|
Back to top |
|
|
cach0rr0 Bodhisattva
Joined: 13 Nov 2008 Posts: 4123 Location: Houston, Republic of Texas
|
Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 6:17 am Post subject: Re: Question on USE flags |
|
|
boydrice wrote: | Do any Gentoo users not mess with USE flags or does this diminish the strength of Gentoo?
|
USE flags - in a one sentence summation - enable/disable different add-ons and/or features of a package, and with that, optional runtime dependencies. Usually, these will control some option that's passed to ./configure
profiles will set sane defaults (mentioned above - 'eselect profile list', and 'eselect profile set ${somenumber}')
this is usually enough to get you a base functional system up and going. You can always decide to add/remove features later.
I personally go the package.use route for most things. This can be a bit of a maintenance headache, but it works quite well as far as leanness goes. _________________ Lost configuring your system?
dump lspci -n here | see Pappy's guide | Link Stash |
|
Back to top |
|
|
boydrice n00b
Joined: 31 Dec 2012 Posts: 2
|
Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 4:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Thank you for the information. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
sitquietly Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 23 Oct 2010 Posts: 143 Location: On the Wolf River, Tennessee
|
Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 7:27 pm Post subject: Re: [SOLVED] Question on USE flags |
|
|
boydrice wrote: | I am thinking of trying Gentoo but really have no idea what I would specify for USE flags.....Do any Gentoo users not mess with USE flags or does this diminish the strength of Gentoo? |
In the past few months I've switched several systems over to Gentoo (specifically Funtoo because stage3 tarballs are available for starting the installation with up-to-date current -- "unstable" ~amd64 -- packages for my specific corei7 cpu). It seems that the rules I've accumulated for myself so far are
1. Portage gives very clear feedback about the state of my system and exactly what any "emerge" will do. I've learned to trust it.
2. The USE flags are primarily set by my "profile": the initial system installation went most smoothly when I didn't change any flags until after I got a basic system working with my editors, xorg and at least a window manager. There are cyclic dependencies in a linux system, it is unavoidable because the upstream software is itself a rat's nest of dependencies and complexity. The manner in which portage resolves this is almost a miracle But some packages will block one another if you try to set too many use flags before you get a functioning system installed.
3. After installing a basic system I start modifying use flags to my preferences. The easiest way to do this is to check the flags for each package as I install or upgrade it: emerge -pv xyzzy will print the use flags used by every package and show whether they are currently set or not. I read the list over, look up the meaning of flags I don't understand and maybe check the ebuild (or use google) to find what a flag will add to a specific package.
4. The profile and package defaults set rational, common use flags and I could easily run my system without ever touching USE. The only time I need to mess with USE flags is when I want something other than the default. "Accepting the defaults" is what you do when you run any other linux distro (except then you don't even get to choose a usage profile). For example I set +latex and pull in latex support everywhere.
5. If a flag is a "global" flag and I seem to want the feature (e.g. qt4 kde semantic-desktop) in all packages that support it then I add the flag to USE in /etc/portage/make.conf, otherwise I add a line to the file /etc/portage/package.use such as
Code: |
media-video/vlc jack libsamplerate matroska speex theora vaapi
|
I keep the package.use file in sorted order. I have 205 packages listed in my package.use at this point.
I'm really happy with how easy it is to get exactly the features I want in my systems, and to change my mind and quickly update the system to my changed preferences.
To answer the OP's question: It is not necessary to mess with USE flags to get a good (better than other distros) system and you can ignore them for now, learn about the flags slowly, they'll be there to give you the power you need when you need it. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
cach0rr0 Bodhisattva
Joined: 13 Nov 2008 Posts: 4123 Location: Houston, Republic of Texas
|
Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 2:52 am Post subject: Re: [SOLVED] Question on USE flags |
|
|
++
more or less exactly how I do things, but was too lazy to type out
my need for global use flags beyond what my profile provides has been minimal.
so far so good _________________ Lost configuring your system?
dump lspci -n here | see Pappy's guide | Link Stash |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|