On Wed, 15 Jul 2020 00:46:58 +0100 Ashley Dixon <a...@suugaku.co.uk> wrote:
> On Tue, Jul 14, 2020 at 11:24:31PM +0200, n952162 wrote: > > binary packages: how to: > > > > 1. find out if a package is binary before you install it (e.g. where on > > app-arch/rar does it say it's a binary package) > > RAR is an unusual case, with both the "mirror" and "bindist" flags set in > the > RESTRICT variable (i.e., Gentoo cannot legally mirror the package, and > you're > not allowed to redistribute binaries either). I couldn't find anything in > the > ebuild which suggests it is a binary package; perhaps this is something > that > should be reviewed by the Gentoo developers, as most packages supporting > a > binary distribution provide a separate package with the `-bin` suffix, > although > I suppose this doesn't make much sense when there is no source package. > > The entire RAR business model of free decompression and paid compression > has > caused confusion for many people over many decades. I'd always stick to 7zip > or > one of the classic UNIX compression utilities, if I had a choice. > > > 2. inhibit their installation > > Don't install them. ;-) > > More seriously: there's not that many of them, so it's probably not a > process > worth automating, unless you're on a multi-user machine, in which > untrusted > users can install packages - although I think you'd have more > significant > problems at that point. As you've unfortunately discovered, there isn't much > of > a concrete framework in place to automatically detect binary packages, > which > also makes Point (3) difficult. > > > 3. get a list of the ones installed on a system > > `EIX_LIMIT=0 eix --only-names -I *-bin`, perhaps ? Unfortunately, this > won't > catch the unusual cases, as seen with `app-arch/rar`. > > > Any ideas about that are appreciated. > > [1] might be worth a read; it's quite comprehensive, and gives you a > glimpse > into the inner-workings of Portage, allowing you to fix these issues > yourself. > > Something to note: "bindist", as the USE-flag and RESTRICT option, does not > mean > "use a binary distribution", but rather "compile the package in such a way > that > I can redistribute my build without putting myself in a legal problem with > the > package authors" (this commonly is synonymous with disabling official > branding): > > $ ash-euses -sk bindist > > dev-libs/openssl:bindist - Disable/Restrict EC algorithms (as they seem to be > patented) -- note: changes the ABI > dev-libs/openssl-compat:bindist - Disable/Restrict EC algorithms (as they > seem to be patented) -- note: changes the ABI > dev-qt/qtnetwork:bindist - Disable EC support via dev-libs/openssl > mail-client/thunderbird:bindist - Disable official Firefox/Thunderbird > branding (icons, name) which are not binary-redistributable according to > upstream. > media-libs/freetype:bindist - Disable ClearType support (see > http://freetype.org/patents.html) > net-libs/liboauth:bindist - Alias for the nss USE flag, since there are > license compliancy trouble when using OpenSSL. > net-misc/openssh:bindist - Disable EC/RC5 algorithms in OpenSSL for patent > reasons. > sys-apps/ucspi-ssl:bindist - Disable EC/RC5 algorithms in OpenSSL for patent > reasons. > www-client/firefox:bindist - Disable official Firefox branding (icons, name) > which are not binary-redistributable according to upstream. > > Hope this helps, > Ashley. > > [1] https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Binary_package_guide > Searching for -bin does not help to find binary only packages. Two more examples, which are binary only: zoom, skypeforlinux Searching for -bin mostly (if not always) implies that there would be a possibility to compile it from source. In my experience so far, every binary-only package does not have an open source license. So mostly you'll hit a license issue and you have to accept the license (/etc/portage/package.license) before you will be able to merge the package. Any license issue should start make you thinking what is going on, since it is a potential binary-only package. Installation of these packages is inhibited by emerge, because you have to accept the license first ;) When I look into my /etc/portage/package.license file I get a good idea of which packages are binary only. Not all of them are pure binary packages, but it is a superset as far as I can tell. To conclude: You cannot find out if a package is binary only with emerge. You have to do the research yourself, but /etc/portage/package.license is a good starting point to find potential candidates. Cheers Andreas
