Subject: Re: show-options, supported-options-message and describe-options
To: Roland Illig <rillig@NetBSD.org>
From: Dieter Baron <dillo@danbala.tuwien.ac.at>
List: tech-pkg
Date: 09/29/2005 16:56:50
In article <433BF6B8.2090807@NetBSD.org> Roland wrote:
: I find the `show-options' target a little (but only a little) useless. 
: It tells you which options you can select, but it doesn't tell you 
: _where_ to select them. I prefer the `supported-options-message' over it.

: I have written a patch that maps `show-options' to 
: `supported-options-message' and extends the output of that target by 
: explaining where to find more information. This way the user is a little 
: more guided through the pkgsrc forest.

: The change is that `show-options' gives you a quite complete overview of 
: the available options, nicely formatted, and a pointer where to find the 
: rest.

  I don't see the point of your patch.  You change the meaning of an
established target (show-options) to mirror that of another existing
target (supported-options-message), and re-introduce most of it's old
meaning under a new target (describe-options) while omiting part of it
completely.

  First of all, it is quite useful to know which options are enabled
by default, both as a guide of what's probably better tested, and as a
debugging tool for package developers.

  Second, this is a change of a user-visible (and documented) target
to something that is already available.


  If you want show-options to include which variables to set to select
options (and possibly a pointer to the relevant section in the guide),
then add that, don't remove useful information.  Or say what you want
added and I'll do it.

						yours,
						dillo