Ok, there's already a bug report about it (https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=10013), but it's quite old, closed, without discussions, etc., so I guess it's better to open a new one. Anyway, here is the deal: - Activated USE flags would be easier and quicker to spot if they were preceded by a pretty standard plus (+) symbol. - Portage seems to already work fine with plus symbols (in "make.conf", "package.use" and on the command line), even if it prints a lot of (identical -huh?) warnings. - When '+'/'-' symbols are involved (as signs, in mathematics), the absence of symbol already is a synonym of the '+' symbol, so there should not be any problem to keep both uses for activated USE flags (we should however prefer specifying the plus symbol, as, as said, it is more readable). At first, here is what should be done: - A new non-default option of emerge should be added: a switch named like "--display-plus-symbol-before-activated-use-flags" (long, yeah, but do we have to care? It's precise, and will be aliased, anyway, if someone want to use it... -the dashes separating words also is not consistent with portage switch names, but there's already "--fetch-all-uri", and I think it's far better when words are "well" separated). - The warnings about a plus symbol before USE flags should be removed. The `emerge` man page should then be updated with the following entry about the "--display-plus-symbol-before-activated-use-flags" switch: ----- Activating this option will cause `emerge` to display a plus ('+') symbol before each activated USE flag, when listing a package USE flags, to improve readability. Please note this might cause compatibility issues with programs/scripts relying on the `emerge` output, so you should probably avoid aliasing this switch to "emerge" (otherwise, if a problem arises, you should report it to the program/script developper, so he takes this new option into account). You should also note it is now permitted to use a plus symbol, before USE flags, to activate them (be it in your "/etc/make.conf" or "/etc/portage/package.use" files, or on command line). ----- Would Portage be ready for this? Is there any major reason why we don't use a plus sign, before activated USE flags, yet? Is there any compatibility issue other than the problem of programs/scripts relying on the `emerge` output (or maybe the "make.conf" or "package.use" files parsing -is there third party programs/scripts doing that and analysing the USE flags status?)?
comment #2 on bug #10013 still applies. Adding a + is redundant and in no way should be enabled per default. If this is something you really really want please provide a patch which defaults to off. *** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 10013 ***
