Date: Sun, 25 Dec 2011 16:38:48 +0000 From: Alexey Dokuchaev <danfe@FreeBSD.org> To: Chris Rees <utisoft@gmail.com> Cc: cvs-ports@freebsd.org, ports-committers@freebsd.org, cvs-all@freebsd.org, Steve Wills <swills@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: cvs commit: ports/x11/kdelibs4 Makefile Message-ID: <20111225163848.GA51484@FreeBSD.org> In-Reply-To: <CADLo839VJRebasTHAb-C8w7G68u2D%2BZHSqwg0f6LoQH8D_0bTg@mail.gmail.com> References: <201112241839.pBOIdPlh024053@repoman.freebsd.org> <20111225154525.GA43948@FreeBSD.org> <CADLo839VJRebasTHAb-C8w7G68u2D%2BZHSqwg0f6LoQH8D_0bTg@mail.gmail.com>
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On Sun, Dec 25, 2011 at 04:13:54PM +0000, Chris Rees wrote: > On 25 Dec 2011 15:45, "Alexey Dokuchaev" <danfe@freebsd.org> wrote: > > Hmm, this seems to go against common practice of preferring libungif to > > giflib (i.e. more ports depend on libungif). Is the problem too > > complicated to solve in a way so we stay with libungif (it's hard to see > > what's exactly wrong from "avoid duplicate files" phrase)? > > I believe it's to avoid conflicts between gif and ungif; it was pointed > out that the patent issues no longer exist, so libgif is the 'preferred' > solution. Per libungif's pkg-descr, it's not just being unencumbered by patents, but also "implements a superset of that [giflib's] library's API". Regardless of the possible API and patent issues, what makes libgif a 'preferred' solution? I see it this way: if 100% of ports can be happy with "official" libgif, let is be so (ditto for libungif). If libungif can do the job where giflib cannot, (and to my understanding, considering all these years GIF patent was in power, libungif was generally preferred to giflib, so the former is more likely to work), libungif should remain de-facto GIF library for FreeBSD. Personally, I don't have any predilection to either libungif or giflib, but I want to avoid spamming users' systems with two almost identical libraries if one of them can suffice for all. ./danfe P.S. Yes, I am willing to bite the bullet and try to fix those ports that do not play well with whatever be "FreeBSD official" GIF provider, as long as only one stay; if both have to stay, we should compare the usage fraction and leave the most popular in place. Switching from libungif to giflib just for the sake of avoiding the conflict does not warrant it.
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