can macports be less strict with aux packages download?

[Jan Stary]

On Jan 17 16:48:02, mojca at macports.org wrote:
> On 16 January 2018 at 18:07, islaind via macports-users wrote:
> > can macports be less strict with aux packages download?
> > -------------------------------------------------------
> > (on osx 10.8.5, port version 2.4.2)
> >
> > In installing xpdf 'port' decides to install perl 5.24 (I have already
> > installed perl 5.22)
> > then requires to install OpenMotif which in turn prompts me to install the
> > following:
> >
> > perl5.16 @5.16.3
> > perl5.22 @5.22.2
> 
> If you are promted to install perl5.16 and perl5.22 then something is
> seriously outdated on your system.

Perl 5.22 is last July.
Is that considered "seriously outdated" in Perl land?

> > Can port be told to be less strict with large packages like perl, ruby and,
> > the horror of all, the several pythons?

What exactly do you mean by "less strict"?
"I need a perl - any Perl; /usr/bin/perl will do"?

No.

> no, you cannot avoid installing perl5.26 even if you
> do have all of perl5.8, perl5.10, perl5.12, perl5.14, perl5.16,
> perl5.18, perl5.20, perl5.22 installed.

No, you cannot avoid installing perl 5.26 if the port you are installing
says it depends on perl 5.26. Could it say to just depend on perl, as in
"any perl I already have will do, please don't make me install yet another
version for no good reason"? No it could not: it must always require
a specific version, even if it's totaly irrelevant.

For example:

	./x11/terminus-font/Portfile:depends_build   port:python36 \

You need to install python36 to have these fonts;
python35 simply won't do, let alone /usr/bin/python.
Those are too old for that.

	Jan