Hi. x11-drivers/xf86-input-evdev-2.7.0.ebuild depends on sys-libs/mtdev, but it can be optional, so I don't think we have to force it. evdev-2.7.0 does seem to have changes since 2.6.0 besides multitouch support, so I think it'd be good. Sorry if you don't agree. In order that evdev driver depends on mtdev, it requires xorg-server >= 1.11.99.901 and inputproto >= 2.1.99.3 according to configure.ac, but without mtdev, xorg-server >= 1.10 suffices. (inputproto seems necessary, but the version is not specified in the latter case..) I could successfully build 2.7.0 without mtdev, and with xorg-server-1.11.2-r2 Thanks. Reproducible: Always
If I read configure.ac correctly, as soon as >=inputproto-2.1.99.3 and >=xorg-server-1.11.99.901 are detected, then mtdev becomes an automagic dependency. Unless upstream changes that and makes mtdev explicitly configurable, I don't see how mtdev dependency can be optional.
I don't speak autoconf, but I think I'm correct: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ commit 0c7c087f77132657dd8ee342963bb1b51d659571 Author: Peter Hutterer <peter.hutterer@who-t.net> Date: Thu Dec 29 10:19:48 2011 +1000 Test for mtdev before assuming multitouch If the XI2.2 headers are present but mtdev isn't, build without MULTITOUCH defined. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thanks, Chí-Thanh Christopher Nguyễn, for your great work in Gentoo.
This is the exact definition of automagic dependency: http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/qa/automagic.xml In this case, if you install first mtdev then xf86-input-evdev, you will end up with a different system than if you first install xf86-input-evdev then mtdev. This is bad and should be avoided. If no other way is available, hard dependencies or blockers are used.
Oh-oh, I see. Thanks for explanation. I sent the patch to fix it to the upstream: https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=48293
The upstream is unwilling to adopt my patch, which adds --without-mtdev. They say mtdev will be mandatory in 2.8.0. My patch allows e.g. to postpone stabilization of sys-libs/mtdev, but I don't persist here either.
Closed as "obsolete", since the ebuild is already stabilized in many platforms. Thanks.