the "MASKED PACKAGES" section is not complete. it's indicated than there is two methods for unmasking/masking a package, the file: /usr/portage/profiles/package.mask and the KEYWORDS. i actually try to unmask a package but, according to the man page, there is no solution. #> grep emerald /usr/portage/profiles/package.mask #> grep KEYWORD /usr/portage/local/layman/xeffects/x11-wm/emerald/emerald-9999.ebuild KEYWORDS="" #> grep emerald /etc/portage/package.* /etc/portage/package.keywords:x11-wm/emerald /etc/portage/package.unmask:x11-wm/emerald #> emerge -p =x11-wm/emerald-9999 These are the packages that would be merged, in order: Calculating dependencies \ !!! All ebuilds that could satisfy "=x11-wm/emerald-9999" have been masked. !!! One of the following masked packages is required to complete your request: - x11-wm/emerald-9999 (masked by: missing keyword) For more information, see MASKED PACKAGES section in the emerge man page or refer to the Gentoo Handbook. as you can see, either the man page is incorrect(there is no only two solution for unmasking a package) or the files indicated are wrong. Regards
I have that info here... what version are you on? MASKED PACKAGES NOTE: Please use caution when using development packages. Problems and bugs resulting from misusing masked packages drains Gentoo developer time. Please be sure you are capable of handling any problems that may ensue. Masks in portage provide three primary functions: they allow a testing period where the packages can be used in live machines; they prevent the use of a package when it will fail; and they mask existing packages that are broken or could pose a security risk. Mask- ing can be done by two methods: package.mask and KEYWORDS. Read below to find out how to unmask in either case. Also note that if you give emerge an ebuild, then all forms of masking will be ignored and emerge will attempt to emerge the package. package.mask The package.mask file primarily blocks the use of packages that cause problems or are known to have issues on different sys- tems. It resides in /usr/portage/profiles. KEYWORDS The KEYWORDS variable in an ebuild file is also used for masking a package still in testing. There are architecture-specific keywords for each package that let portage know which systems are compatible with the package. Packages which compile on an architecture, but have not been proven to be "stable", are masked with a tilde (~) in front of the architecture name. emerge examines the ACCEPT_KEYWORDS environment variable to allow or disallow the emerging of a package masked by KEYWORDS. To inform emerge that it should build these 'testing' versions of packages, you should update your /etc/portage/package.keywords file to list the packages you want the 'testing' version. See portage(5) for more information.
The most important is this sentence: See portage(5) for more information. portage(5) contains this information: /etc/portage/ package.keywords Note: In addition to the normal values from ACCEPT_KEYWORDS package.keywords supports three special tokens: * package is visible if it is stable on any architecture ~* package is visible if it is in testing on any architecture ** package is always visible (KEYWORDS are ignored completely) So you need to place the following line in /etc/portage/package.keywords: x11-wm/emerald ** This bug should be marked as WORKSFORME.
Hello, this enhancement request was ported on the following error message: For more information, see MASKED PACKAGES section in the emerge man page or refer to the Gentoo Handbook. my request is to either: - change the error message in portage to indicate the portage man page or - change the emerge man page to indicate in the MASKED PACKAGES section the special tokens or - change the emerge man page to indicate in the MASKED PACKAGES a message "for more information please refer to the 'package.keywords' secction in the portage man page". since i've posted this enhancement request i've found the solution, this request is now for other gentoo users, for find the information more quickly. Regards.
(In reply to comment #3) > - change the error message in portage to indicate the portage man I prefer this one. What do you think about: "For more information, see MASKED PACKAGES section in the emerge man page or refer to the Gentoo Handbook. Configuration in detail is described in the portage man page."? (In reply to comment #3) > - change the emerge man page to indicate in the MASKED PACKAGES a > message "for more information please refer to the 'package.keywords' > secction in the portage man page". At the bottom of emerge (1) there is: SEE ALSO emerge --help, ebuild(1), ebuild(5), make.conf(5), color.map(5), portage(5) It means that you should recursively read mentioned man pages.
(In reply to comment #3) > - change the emerge man page to indicate in the MASKED PACKAGES a message "for > more information please refer to the 'package.keywords' secction in the portage > man page". Well, it already has this: To inform emerge that it should build these 'testing' versions of packages, you should update your /etc/portage/package.keywords file to list the packages you want the 'testing' version. See portage(5) for more information.
the relevant sections already refer the reader to where to find documentation emerge -p output -> emerge(1) overview -> portage(5) specific file syntax
