Re: package managers [was: FatELF patches...]

[Enrico Weigelt <weigelt@metux.de>]

* Mikulas Patocka <mikulas@artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz> wrote:

> No, if I compile alpha version of mplayer by hand, it compiles and links 
> against whatever libraries I have on my system. If I pull it out of some 
> "testing" repository, it is already compiled and linked against libraries 
> in the same "testing" repository and it will load the system with crap.

You picked the wrong repo. Use one which contains only the wanted
package, not tons of other stuff. If there is none, create it.
 
> > Or if you're arguing "you'd give up after seeing it needed an experimental
> > libfoo", I'll counter "you'd hopefully think twice if yum said it was
> > installing a experimental mplayer, and dragging in a whole chain of pre-reqs".
> 
> ... or use --disable-libfoo if it insists on newer version and I don't 
> want to upgrade it. 

Either abdicate the feature requiring libfoo or statically link that
new version. In neither way FatELF will help here.

> Or maybe the configure scripts detects on its own that the library is 
> too old will compile without new features. Or it uses libfoo shipped 
> with the sources.

Blame mplayer folks for their crappy configure script. Automatically
switching features on presence of some libs (also *against* explicit
options), or - even worse - hard coded system lib pathes (!) is simply
insane. FatELF can't delete ignorance from jerks like Rich Felker ;-O


cu
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