On Wed, 15 Jul 2020 00:46:58 +0100, Ashley Dixon wrote:

> > 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;

src_compile() { :; }

This is setting the compile to a NOP, which is a bit of a giveaway.
However, it's not a consistent way of checking, for example skypeforlinux
doesn't specify src_compile at all, which I thought meant it used the
default of running emake().

As Andreas mentioned, the LICENSE setting is probably a more reliable way
of excluding such packages. By only allowing open source licences you
prevent the installation of proprietary binary packages. You can still
install the *-bin packages as they are mostly convenience packages to
save you lengthy compilation by using the developer's provided binary
packages of open source software.


-- 
Neil Bothwick

Help put the "fun" back in "dysfunctional" !

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