Modular x.org packages are already sparc keyworded, but the xorg-x11 meta-package and some virtuals are still ~sparc, which forces portage to install monolithic x.org even when modular is already stable. With this: # cat /etc/portage/package.keywords x11-base/xorg-x11 ~sparc virtual/x11 ~sparc virtual/opengl ~sparc virtual/glu ~sparc virtual/xft ~sparc I can use modular X11 to emerge gnome without affecting the stability of the system because all "real" packages keep the same versions.
We are awaiting resolution of some driver issues; gustavoz can provide details.
the ati driver seems to have issues on some machines (used in ultra 5/10, blade 100/150 which is a big part of our user base). in my case in particular it shows up in a corrupted screen when starting any ?dm with a nice hardlock on said system. using a mga seems to help, i get the occasional hardlock on ?dm startup but they're very rare and things work smoothly.
Why are then x11-drivers/xf86-video-ati-6.6.1 x11-base/xorg-server-1.1.0-r1 sparc keyworded, if the problem is with xf86-video-ati and xorg-server pulls xf86-video-ati as PDEPEND? And how is the x11-base/xorg-x11 case different from the x11-base/xorg-server one?
(In reply to comment #3) > Why are then x11-drivers/xf86-video-ati-6.6.1 x11-base/xorg-server-1.1.0-r1 > sparc keyworded, if the problem is with xf86-video-ati and xorg-server pulls > xf86-video-ati as PDEPEND? > And how is the x11-base/xorg-x11 case different from the x11-base/xorg-server > one? > These are fair questions; sorry for taking so long to address them. 1. When we marked video-ati stable, we were not aware of any problems with it; 2. x11-base/xorg-x11 (and virtual/x11) are the packages used for installing/upgrading to xorg-x11-7.x (from 6.8.2-rxx), and are marked ~sparc, awaiting a resolution of the video-ati problem. x11-base/xorg-server is the program X (Xorg) and friends; it is stable. It is true that if you choose to build X-modular in pieces yourself and use xorg-server as the means of getting most of it, and if you run into the ati problem (mach64 + xdm?), you might have to work around it. But at this point, the recommended way to install X-modular via 'emerge xorg-x11 virtual/x11', and if you follow the normal upgrade procedure, the '~sparc' keywords will warn you.
It wasn't confirmed that there was a real issue with gustavoz until the stabilization was nearly complete. At that point, the decision was made to hold off on stabling the final packages until some sort of fix or workaround could be found.
Sorry for the late replay, but I was out of the city for a week. And thanks for the explanation, now I see why is it masked in this peculiar way. And as note, on the Ultra 10 I'm installing xorg, gdm (and all X) works fine with Mach64 (ATI Technologies Inc 3D Rage Pro 215GP). The versions I have installed are gnome-base/gdm-2.14.9-r1, x11-base/xorg-server-1.1.0-r1 and x11-drivers/xf86-video-ati-6.6.1
Everything's stable now.
