[MacPorts] #57099: [feature request] "replaces" keyword

[MacPorts]

#57099: [feature request] "replaces" keyword
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 Reporter:  RJVB     |      Owner:  (none)
     Type:  request  |     Status:  new
 Priority:  Normal   |  Milestone:
Component:  base     |    Version:
 Keywords:           |       Port:
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 The Debian/Ubuntu package manager has a feature that allows packages to
 register as a replacement for another package. This is a more direct
 complement to the MacPorts `replaced_by` feature.

 I see a few points of interest to a "this port replaces this and that
 other port(s)":

 - it's not an EOL property; for instance, `port:foo` and `port:foo-devel`
 could both use `replaces foo-devel` and `replaces foo` respectively. This
 would streamline the process of switching between a port and its "devel"
 counterpart because the install/upgrade (or even activation) procedure for
 the one would first deactivate the other.
 - it should also streamline upgrades when a new port replaces a more than
 a single port.

 `port:xorg-xorgproto` is probably a good example for that second point. I
 had some issues when I did a (partial) upgrade using `port upgrade
 outdated and "xorg-*proto"`. If `xorg-xorgproto` had registerd the
 `replaces` list of all proto ports it replaces, those ports would all have
 been deactivated at once, when the first to-be-replaced proto port upgrade
 was being processed.

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Ticket URL: <https://trac.macports.org/ticket/57099>
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