Re: [OE-core] [PATCH] meta: stop using "virtual/" in RPROVIDES and RDEPENDS

["Peter Kjellerstedt" <peter.kjellerstedt@axis.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: openembedded-core@lists.openembedded.org <openembedded-
> core@lists.openembedded.org> On Behalf Of Bruce Ashfield
> Sent: den 1 september 2021 15:24
> To: Michael Opdenacker <michael.opdenacker@bootlin.com>
> Cc: Patches and discussions about the oe-core layer <openembedded-
> core@lists.openembedded.org>
> Subject: Re: [OE-core] [PATCH] meta: stop using "virtual/" in RPROVIDES
> and RDEPENDS
> 
> On Wed, Sep 1, 2021 at 5:20 AM Michael Opdenacker
> <michael.opdenacker@bootlin.com> wrote:
> >
> > Fixes [YOCTO #14538]
> >
> > Recipes shouldn't use the "virtual/" string in RPROVIDES and RDEPENDS.
> >
> > That's confusing because "virtual/" has no special meaning in
> > RPROVIDES and RDEPENDS (unlike in PROVIDES and DEPENDS).
> >
> > Instead, using "virtual-" instead of "virtual/"
> > as already done in the glibc recipe.
> 
> We have quite a few cases in meta-virtualization, where the same
> unclear syntax is used.
> 
> I can take care of updating it, if you aren't looking at it already.
> 
> Bruce

Can anyone enlighten me to what benefit changing "virtual/" to 
"virtual-" for runtime dependencies gives? AFAIU, this makes no 
technical difference and everything will still work exactly as 
before, but with a different provided name.

If you then have virtual/foo for build dependencies and virtual-foo 
for the corresponding runtime dependencies, then I only see increased 
confusion with a change like this.

And yes, I know about the problems with virtual runtime dependencies, 
but in my experience, as long as you do not try to create a global 
package repository with packages from multiple builds, but only use 
the packages created by bitbake to generate an image, they work as 
expected.

//Peter