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Date:      Wed, 04 Feb 2009 08:37:40 +0100
From:      Alexander Leidinger <Alexander@Leidinger.net>
To:        Alex Goncharov <alex-goncharov@comcast.net>
Cc:        Jeremy Messenger <mezz7@cox.net>, freebsd-ports@freebsd.org, flz@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: X drivers depend on Gnome?
Message-ID:  <20090204083740.12061iw6kf4c9vwg@webmail.leidinger.net>
In-Reply-To: <E1LUVek-000EoV-0p@daland.home>
References:  <E1LUQYl-000Cir-UT@daland.home> <op.uostqymy9aq2h7@localhost> <E1LUVek-000EoV-0p@daland.home>

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Quoting Alex Goncharov <alex-goncharov@comcast.net> (from Tue, 03 Feb =20
2009 19:30:18 -0500):

> ,--- You/Jeremy (Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:19:12 -0600) ----*
> | The pkg-config is not GNOME. Even the GTK+2 is not GNOME.
> | I am VERY  surpised about that you are whining over it.
>
> In other words, you think that making base X11 blocks (such as drivers
> and libxcb) depend on Gnome, per this definition in bsd.port.mk:
>
>     # USE_GNOME=09- A list of the Gnome dependencies the port has (e.g.,
>     #=09=09glib12, gtk12).  Implies that the port needs Gnome.
>     #=09=09Implies inclusion of bsd.gnome.mk.  See bsd.gnome.mk
>     #=09=09or http://www.FreeBSD.org/gnome/docs/porting.html
>     #=09=09for more details.
>
> is the right thing, correct?

To repeat what mezz said, the X stuff does not depend upon GNOME. The =20
X stuff depends upon pkgconfig. pkgconfig is also used by GNOME. It's =20
a little and useful infrastructure thing. With pkgconfig you can check =20
if software Y is installed, which version it has, which include path =20
you need to compile it, and which libs to link to if you want to use =20
it in your software Z. All it does is to do "echo $libs" or "echo =20
$includes" or similar. The benefit is that you as a author of software =20
Y just need a little config file which lists everything, and pkgconfig =20
is responsible for all the common tasks like version check and =20
printing. It also unifies the interface if you need to query for =20
software. It originated in GNOME, but as it is small and light, it is =20
used now in more or less everything. For example openssl uses it too =20
(but unfortunately openssl in the FreeBSD base system does not install =20
the corresponding config file), but this does not make openssl depend =20
upon GNOME. It just looks to you like "GNOME" because the config =20
variable in our ports infrastructure is spelled "USE_GNOME". This is =20
for historical reasons, it could also be named "USE_INFRASTRUCTURE" =20
(it automatically adds suitable BUILD_DEPENDS, RUN_DEPENDS and/or =20
LIB_DEPENDS and additional stuff just by adding a keyword).

pkgconfig could be extracted from the USE_GNOME stuff, and it could =20
even maintained by someone else than the FreeBSD gnome team, but the =20
FreeBSD gnome team is doing a good job at maintaining it, and there's =20
no benefit in extracting pkgconfig from USE_GNOME.

HTH,
Alexander.

--=20
Nothing shortens a journey so pleasantly as an account of misfortunes at
which the hearer is permitted to laugh.
=09=09-- Quentin Crisp

http://www.Leidinger.net    Alexander @ Leidinger.net: PGP ID =3D B0063FE7
http://www.FreeBSD.org       netchild @ FreeBSD.org  : PGP ID =3D 72077137



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