Bug 284226 – app-emulation/libvirt should not block netcat

• Product: Gentoo Linux
• Status: RESOLVED FIXED

[Description kouyu 2009-09-09 03:43:02 UTC]

The solution of bug #280650 is not good.

I always install net-analyzer/netcat and net-analyzer/netcat6 on one system simultaneously. They are not conflict actually. I need both of their features. I use nc if I need netcat, I use nc6 if I need netcat6. They works both well.

This bug should be libvirt bug. It knew nc doesn't have -U option, it should not had used it, but used nc6 instead. It can not block netcat simply just because one software can only use netcat6. I think what should be fixed/modified is libvirt but not netcat/netcat6.

Even so, libvirt can not be modified, there is still another approach better, I think.

There are three netcat-like packages, netcat, gnu-netcat, netcat6. They completely should be managed by eselect just like other eselected packages, e.g. ctags, vi, etc.

$ eselect ctags list
Available ctags symlink targets:
  [1]   ctags-emacs-22
  [2]   exuberant-ctags *

$ eselect ctags list
Available ctags symlink targets:
  [1]   ctags-emacs-22
  [2]   exuberant-ctags *

And tell user to `eselect netcat set netcat6' when you want to use libvirt, or similar software which can only use netcat6.

Once again, I think netcat6 and netcat are not conflict actually, they should be permitted to be installed in one system.

[Comment 1 Gordon Malm (RETIRED) 2009-09-11 23:41:48 UTC]

Agreed, I'd prefer an eselect solution similar to that for the various vi clients.  There's other netcat clients out there too... openbsd's, etc. so there may be even more in portage in the future.

[Comment 2 Patrick Lauer 2009-09-12 12:44:31 UTC]

> Once again, I think netcat6 and netcat are not conflict actually, they should
be permitted to be installed in one system.

Hmm, yes. The fix I did allows libvirt to work. Would be better to fix it in the libvirt source. I'll think about it :)

[Comment 3 Doug Goldstein (RETIRED) 2009-10-23 23:24:56 UTC]

If you're handling this one Patrick then I'll re-assign.

[Comment 4 Diego Elio Pettenò (RETIRED) 2009-12-23 17:01:22 UTC]

Seems like this does not apply any more?