Re: CVS commit: pkgsrc/x11/xlockmore

[Jonathan Perkin <jperkin%joyent.com@localhost>]

* On 2018-09-09 at 22:19 BST, maya%netbsd.org@localhost wrote:

> On Sun, Sep 09, 2018 at 09:31:14PM +0100, Jonathan Perkin wrote:
> > * On 2018-09-09 at 21:05 BST, Maya Rashish wrote:
> > 
> > > Module Name:      pkgsrc
> > > Committed By:     maya
> > > Date:             Sun Sep  9 20:05:19 UTC 2018
> > > 
> > > Modified Files:
> > >   pkgsrc/x11/xlockmore: Makefile.common
> > > 
> > > Log Message:
> > > xlockmore{,-lite}: drop CONFLICTS.
> > 
> > Please retain specific CONFLICTS for them, they still conflict with
> > each other.
> 
> Why is that necessary? don't we already know automagically based on them
> having identical PLIST entries?

This is a common misconception.

Yes, pkg_add will error when it detects a PLIST conflict with the
package you are trying to install.

However, there is no reasonable way for binary package managers such
as pkgin to know in advance that pkg_add is going to run into a PLIST
conflict.

So a user who runs 'pkgin install foo' that happens to PLIST conflict
with an existing package will only get an error after downloading foo
and all its dependencies, and installing all of foo's dependencies,
before finally having to grok out the pkg_add PLIST error from the
install log and wonder what to do with all these dependencies they've
just installed that can't be used.

It is a terrible user experience, which is why we have CONFLICTS so
that pkgin and other tools which consume pkg_summary can properly
inform the user that their chosen target package will not install
correctly and abort.

In this case the CONFLICTS entry was simply incorrect and we should
fix it, not remove it.

-- 
Jonathan Perkin  -  Joyent, Inc.  -  www.joyent.com