> > Looking at /usr/portage/app-editors/emacs/emacs-22.3-r2.ebuild, I see > > that it depends unconditionally on app-emacs/emacs-common-gentoo. > > You cannot eliminate this dependency by changing USE flags. > > The most natural solution is to tell Portage to accept the package > > app-emacs/emacs-common-gentoo, even though it is not officially stable. > > > > To learn how to do this, read the portage man page and look > > for package.keywords. > > > > For quick, "cake recipe" instructions: > > > > 1) If there is a file named package.keywords in /etc/portage, > > add to it the line > > app-emacs/emacs-common-gentoo > > > > 2) If there is a directory named package.keywords in /etc/portage, > > you can create a file in it (the name of this file is irrelevant), > > and add to this file the line > > app-emacs/emacs-common-gentoo > > If there is already some file in /etc/portage/package.keywords, then, > > at your option, you can either edit this file and add to it the line > > app-emacs/emacs-common-gentoo > > or you can create a new file with this line. > > > Thank you very much for your prompt, clear, and comprehensive response. > Your suggestion solved the problem. > Best regards, > John You are welcome. I forgot to stress something: after some version of app-emacs/emacs-common-gentoo at least as recent as 1.0 becomes stable, you may want to remove the line app-emacs/emacs-common-gentoo from the file you have edited, so that Portage will go back to its normal behavior of seeking stable versions of the package.
Anyway, using a testing (not officially stable) version of a single, simple package is unlikely to lead to problems. I prefer to use stable, tested package versions in my system, but one small exception for a small and simple package is harmless. -- Software is like sex: it is better when it is free. --Linus Torvalds
