On Thursday, 31 July 2025 14:50:36 British Summer Time Dale wrote: > Peter Humphrey wrote: > > On Wednesday, 30 July 2025 14:55:55 British Summer Time Dale wrote: > >> ... I tried using sets. All it did was create > >> more work. If I have something installed here, I use it, sometimes a > >> LOT. Therefore, I want them all to be as up to date as is available. I > >> found that even when I did have sets, the sets were in the world file > >> and being updated anyway. No real point in that when just putting for > >> example, kicad-meta, in the world file and skipping the sets. Some may > >> like it. I've read of people using and liking how it works. For me > >> tho, it was just more work. So, some of us long term users do just fine > >> without sets. :-D > > > > On the other hand, I find life easier with everything in sets. I passed > > through a phase when I was reinstalling systems rather too often, and > > rather than sit here for hours doing piecemeal installations, it was much > > easier to start a set emerging and go and do something else while it got > > on with it. > > > > I sometimes install something to see if I like it, and it goes into > > @world. If I decide to keep it, it comes out of world and into a suitable > > set; otherwise I uninstall it. My world file is therefore usually empty, > > but now you've prompted me to check it and I see a few things in there > > that I thought I'd uninstalled. So, thanks for the reminder! > > > > Of course, now that my system is stable, more-or-less, I could revert to > > the usual way of working, but then I'd have some work to do. It could be > > done in a few commands; the harder part would be my having to mend my > > ways. :-) > > > > In case anyone's interested, this is my standard set of sets, in order of > > installation: > > > > $ ls -1 /etc/portage/sets # arranged by hand > > core > > base > > apps > > xorg > > plasma > > utils > > > > @core includes linux-firmware and gentoo-sources, which several @base > > packages require to have been installed. > > > > Many other schemes could be used, I'm sure, but mine is here for > > historical reasons; not hysterical, these days :-) > > This is like a lot of other things in life. Sometimes it depends on the > situation. You take the devs that are always making changes to ebuilds, > testing, making more changes and testing some more before it hits the > tree. I'm sure they have a lot of unique ways of testing, updating and > likely even installing packages. I suspect some use sets, some may > not. Some may have one process while others are completely different. > They do things in a way that works for them and gives them the best > results. > > For me and my simplistic and consistent way of updating, sets just makes > more work and doesn't gain me anything. If sets work for you, and > others, by all means use them. It just doesn't work for me. When I > sync and do my updates, I want emerge to update everything at once if > possible. I run one update command and it's done.
So do I. Any set I install is recorded in /var/lib/portage/world_sets and so forms part of @world. > I'm also sure for some, including me, we do things the way we do because > that's how we have done it for a long time. If it's working, don't mess > with it. Quite so. :) -- Regards, Peter.
