Re: handling netbsd-8 venerable gcc version in pkgsrc (Was: default C versions)

[David Brownlee <abs%absd.org@localhost>]

On Tue, 4 Jul 2023 at 10:40, Greg Troxel <gdt%lexort.com@localhost> wrote:
>
> > So, what to do?  Nothing or add a USE_LANGUAGES+= setting?
>
> multiple things to do:
>
>   Stop using NetBSD 8.  Seriously, it's past due to upgrade everything
>   running 8 to 9.  I personally have no 8 systems, and I don't worry
>   about things not working on 8.

Thinking about maintaining a reasonable level of pkgsrc support on
"platforms which ship with old compilers" (netbsd-8 today, likely
netbsd-9 in a couple of years), EL-7 for some time :)

Two possible levels:
1) Require a reasonably modern gcc (or clang) for _any_
USE_LANGUAGES=c++. All c++ code is compiled with the same recent
compiler (handwaves about linking to base c++ libs), c code can end up
mixed (but is probably OK), no build or setup complications
2) Treat similarly to EL-7, in that a modern version of gcc must be
built for ~everything. Need to manage separate bootstrap compiler with
build & setup complications, but once done everything is compiled with
the same recent compiler

In both cases users will end up having to build a whole gcc (possibly
more than once :) for simple packages, but we end up having to support
fewer random compiler variants,.

We should be able to pull the switch on #1 with netbsd-8 now. It would
be interesting to see a bulk build result with that.

If we had an automated mechanism to manage #2 (possibly via the "build
gcc in a bootstrap prefix, then use to build gcc packages in the
correct prefix, then nuke bootstrap prefix"), then that should be
ideal for EL-7 now, and netbsd-8..."sometime" :)

David