Bug 198295

Summary:	Possibility of adding more Drivers to Portage... (printer-drivers/epson-d78) etc.
Product:	Gentoo Linux	Reporter:	Jonathan Casey <J.D.B.Casey>
Component:	New packages	Assignee:	Gentoo Linux bug wranglers <bug-wranglers>
Status:	RESOLVED CANTFIX
Severity:	enhancement
Priority:	High
Version:	unspecified
Hardware:	All
OS:	Linux
URL:	http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-p-4467845.html#4467845
Whiteboard:
Package list:		Runtime testing required:	---

Description Jonathan Casey 2007-11-06 20:52:23 UTC

Ok, I'm pretty new to Gentoo and only have a basic understand of how ebuilds work etc. But I was trying to install my printer in a hurry and after emerging CUPS and finding "http://openprinting.org/show_printer.cgi?recnum=Epson-Stylus_D78", I played around with some gutenprint drivers and tried working out what to do with a ".rpm" file only to end up with my printer having a fit and printing garbage on the same line over and over again till i pulled the plug... In the end I just rebooted to windows and printed the document from there :p

My point is, I thought, "wouldn't it be nice if I could just do...":

# emerge printer-drivers/epson-D78

I know there are a billions drivers out there and probably millions just for printers alone with each one needing its own special treatment to install but would this be technically possible? I guess its a miss-use of the portage system but it would undoutably be a nice feature to have. I only have a basic idea of how portage works hence I don't really know if portage is technically able to do all the driver downloading / configuring for each specific printer model automatically.

I understand there are like 23,000 ebuilds in portage and having more drivers added would bring that to a rediculus ammount, but it would be nice wouldn't it? :)

Cheers for lisstening,

Reproducible: Always

Comment 1 Jonathan Casey 2007-11-06 20:55:06 UTC

NeedySeagoon has already given a responce to this request on the Gentoo Forums:
http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-p-4467845.html#4467845

It appears such a feature wouldn't really be possible.

Comment 2 Jakub Moc (RETIRED) gentoo-dev

2007-11-06 22:03:34 UTC

No, not really a chance of getting abstract requests to portage. If you want some driver, file a bug for that one driver, and attach an ebuild there.

Comment 3 Jonathan Casey 2007-11-07 00:45:37 UTC

So your saying I can put Printer Drivers into portage...? :)
(Aslong as I supply them my self for them to be added)

I guess thats basicly what I wanted to know. I wouldn't have thought people would like having things like printer drivers added to portage.

Thanks a lot :)