On Fri, Nov 30, 2001 at 09:28:51AM -0600, David Burgess wrote:
> Johnny,
> 
> Just a random thought - is there a way in the pkgsrc system to do 
> conditionals based on things that are installed (vice installing them
> for every condition).
> 
> For example, in all that work you did with the php packages, would
> it have been beneficial to simply run something like a 'best fit'
> that would (as a pure example) install the php-mysql stuff if 
> mysql-client was installed, but not if it wasn't?

What you're describing sounds like some sort of GNU-configure-ish
implementation for pkgsrc in that it would dynamically try to find what's
already installed and build additional parts and add dependencies as needed.
I could see how a meta-pkg might be constructed in this fashion, but for
normal packages, I don't see how to do this.  

> The hook back to the original post is that, if such as facility existed, 
> the X11 packages could install themselves with xpkgwedge if it was 
> installed (as it reasonably could be on a workstation in the wild) but
> not on the machine where the pkg TAR files are built.

Well, xpkgwedge does more than just affect where a package is installed.
Plus, most packages hardcode paths into binaries and libraries, so there's
really no way to install a package under a different prefix, so I'm not
sure I understand the idea you're presenting here.

> Like I said - just a random thought.  It's kind of a froody feature
> that might come in handy for some of these weird inter-dependent 
> packages....
> 
> Dave
> 
> P.S.  I've recently built a NetBSD package that does a really good
> job of building out the dependencies for an ISP accounting system
> called 'Freeside'.  It does a really crappy job of actually 
> installing anything from the system, but it mows through those
> interdependencies like corn through a goose.  Is it worth even
> sending in?

I'm not sure what you mean by "a really good job of building out the
dependencies", but from the sound of it, it certainly piques my interest.
If you post a URL, I'll definitely take a look at it.

	Cheers,

	-- Johnny Lam <jlam@jgrind.org>