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Bug 615416

Summary: dev-java/icedtea{,-bin}: the rebooted versioning confuses the hell out of users and package managers
Product: Gentoo Linux Reporter: Michał Górny <mgorny>
Component: Current packagesAssignee: Andrew John Hughes <gnu_andrew>
Status: RESOLVED FIXED    
Severity: normal CC: chewi, java, proxy-maint, qa
Priority: Normal    
Version: unspecified   
Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
Whiteboard:
Package list:
Runtime testing required: ---

Description Michał Górny archtester Gentoo Infrastructure gentoo-dev Security 2017-04-13 06:33:42 UTC
Well, you know that already for a long time but I think it's time to report this officially:

* dev-java/icedtea
     Available versions:  
     (8)    (~)3.3.0
     (7)    (~)7.2.6.9

This is going to confuse the hell out of both users and package managers. While the virtuals work around it partially by forcing a specific slot, the package managers are still supposed to prefer the newer version whenever possible. Depending on the world file, dependency graph, package manager this may result in :7 being preferred, or both slots being installed for no reason.

So, *please* use monotonically growing versions. If you need to, either hack the upstream version number [less PITA for users], or split this into multiple packages [more PITA for users].
Comment 1 James Le Cuirot gentoo-dev 2017-04-13 07:28:02 UTC
As I said, removing 7 is a high priority anyway. I was dealing with one of the last packages that currently require it (jmeter) before I got fed up and burned out. We were discussing a brand new and very radical strategy for moving forwards just last night. That might take time to implement but once we have some idea where we're going, I might p.mask jmeter temporarily just to get 7 out of the way. I know it sucks but it's gone on this long already, we can manage a little longer.
Comment 2 James Le Cuirot gentoo-dev 2017-12-06 22:03:16 UTC
Ding dong, Java 7 is gone! It's still in java-overlay but I'll let gnu_andrew decide whether he wants to change the version there. The overlay isn't used much these days.