How to get a full list of dependents?

[Joshua Root]

> Apparently commands such as "port dependents xxx" or "port echo dependentof:xxx"
> will only list *installed* dependents --- and "xxx" must itself be installed.
> 
> How can I get a full list of ports that are dependents of "xxx", whether or not
> they or "xxx" are installed?
> 
> ATM I would like to see which ports depend on Growl and which depend on
> MacPorts_Framework.  Pallet depends on both, but are there others?

port echo depends:Growl

This uses the index, so it won't find dependencies that are added in
non-default variants.

> If I wish to make a change in MacPorts_Framework, what might be the impact
> on ports other than Pallet, or is Pallet the only user?
>
> Ditto, if I wish to remove the dependency of Pallet on Growl?  Do
other ports
> use it successfully?  It is apparently not doing anything in Pallet.

This (and other questions regarding development of Pallet and
MacPorts.framework) is probably more suited to the macports-dev list,
where you'll get the attention of more developer types.

MacPorts_Framework is still in a pretty "pre-alpha" state, so I wouldn't
worry too much about maintaining compatibility if not doing so will make
it better. Just make sure you mention the interface breakage in the
commit logs, and fix Pallet to match.

Growl support is good to have, but Pallet should still be usable without
Growl.

- Josh