Heads up: poppler won't build

[Bill Cole]

On 24 Feb 2019, at 18:55, Dave Horsfall wrote:

> Sierra 10.12.6 + latest security updates, MacPorts 2.5.4.
>
> Doing my regular Monday "port upgrade outdated", and...
>
>     --->  Computing dependencies for poppler
>     --->  Configuring poppler
>     Error: poppler cannot be built while another version of poppler is 
> active.
>     Error: Please forcibly deactivate the existing copy of poppler, 
> e.g. by running:
>     Error:
>     Error:     sudo port -f deactivate poppler
>     Error:
>     Error: Then try again.
>     Error: Failed to configure poppler: poppler is active

That's a bug. It's a bug the port maintainer is apparently aware of and 
has chosen to not fix, but it is still a bug.


> Note that I do not file bug reports unless I am 100% sure that it is 
> indeed a bug, and not my own silly fault; I've had this policy for 40+ 
> years.
>
> So,
>
>     ozzie:~ dave$ sudo port -f deactivate poppler
>     --->  Unable to deactivate poppler @0.72.0_0, the following ports 
> depend on it:
>     --->  	gimp2 @2.10.8_3+python27
>     Warning: Deactivate forced.  Proceeding despite dependencies.
>     --->  Deactivating poppler @0.72.0_0
>     --->  Cleaning poppler
>
> Hmmm...  Proceed regardless:
>
>     ozzie:~ dave$ sudo port -p upgrade outdated
>     Nothing to upgrade.

Because after you deactivate a port, an "upgrade" isn't possible. If you 
want it, you need to 'install' it. That's why this is a bug: it breaks a 
normal maintenance workflow.


> (Yes, I'm in the habit of using "-p" to get past broken ports.)
>
> Well, I don't (yet) use GIMP, and I have no idea what "poppler" is, so 
> I
> guess I can live with it.

This is a mystifying sentence.

Why would you have installed GIMP if you weren't going to use it?

(Also: poppler is a PDF rendering library.)

-- 
Bill Cole
bill at scconsult.com or billcole at apache.org
(AKA @grumpybozo and many *@billmail.scconsult.com addresses)
Available For Hire: https://linkedin.com/in/billcole