[MacPorts] #52981: info phase

[MacPorts]

#52981: info phase
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 Reporter:  RJVB     |      Owner:
     Type:  request  |     Status:  new
 Priority:  Normal   |  Milestone:
Component:  base     |    Version:
 Keywords:           |       Port:
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 I don't think there's currently anything that allows Portfiles to print
 out anything else in more detailed fashion when `port info` is being
 executed - apart from appending text to `long_description`, right?

 What I'd like to be able to do is print (detailed) warnings when that is
 justified when `port info` is executed. Printing that information during
 one of the install phases is fine too but a bit late, but the information
 shouldn't be printed unconditionally because then it most certainly would
 show up at inappropriate times like when running portindex or at certain
 points during an elaborate upgrade run.

 Think information that could be printed in the notes but that you'd want
 users to consider before they start installing a port (possibly a whole
 run of installs).

 Possible enhancements include:
 - activate `ui_info` when `port info` is executed
 - an optional switch to `notes` that prints the notes also during `port
 info`.
 - `pre-info` and/or `post-info` contexts (possibly overkill for what I'd
 like to do).

 I'd be happy to work up something, but with some form of guidance to
 remain on the same wavelength.

 ,,Some more elaborate context (as much in a (coco)nutshell as I
 managed):[[br]]
 My KF5 ports will be supported only with `port:qt5-kde` but they will work
 with a stock Qt5 too, with a varying amount of feature loss. That's
 particularly true for certain of the KF5 frameworks when the potential
 runtime feature loss is not an issue. My install approach is thus based on
 user choice: install a KF5 port from scratch (without Qt5 active) and
 you'll get the preferred port:qt5-kde in the bargain; install it with
 port:qt5 already active and that port will be used. This works just as
 with -devel ports, except that in this case a variant is set when you
 install a KF5 port against port:qt5.,,

 ,,I don't want to impose restrictions that make it impossible to use the
 unsupported stock Qt5 port if I can avoid it, and assuming users never
 change their Qt5 port there are no hard reasons to impose anything except
 for lack of support.[[br]]
 Dealing with mismatching KF5 framework variants is more elaborate
 potential issue. Chances are high again that this will just work
 (port:qt5-kde is a drop-in replacement for port:qt5) so if possible I only
 want to print a warning when a "mismatching" framework will be pulled in.
 I am currently doing this, but I get reports of false alarms that I think
 cannot easily be avoided without coupling the warning to a Portfile run
 context.,,

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Ticket URL: <https://trac.macports.org/ticket/52981>
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