Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!hsdndev!cmcl2!kramden.acf.nyu.edu!brnstnd
From: brnstnd@kramden.acf.nyu.edu (Dan Bernstein)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d
Subject: Re: Help define Environment: usage in c.s.m
Message-ID: <2088:Jun309:46:2191@kramden.acf.nyu.edu>
Date: 3 Jun 91 09:46:21 GMT
References: <1991May26.041741.22210@sparky.IMD.Sterling.COM> <1991May29.203238.21594@klaava.Helsinki.FI> <3524@kraftbus.cs.tu-berlin.de>
Organization: IR
Lines: 30

In article <3524@kraftbus.cs.tu-berlin.de> net@opal.cs.tu-berlin.de (Oliver Laumann) writes:
> Suppose I have a software package that runs under SunOS X, where
> X >= 3.4 and X <= 4.1.1, 4.[23] BSD, System V Release 3, Ultrix, HP-UX,
> and several others; it requires X11 Release 3 or X11 Release 4,
> OSF/Motif 1.0 or Motif 1.1, but Motif 1.1 only together with X11
> Release 4, further OpenWindows 2.0 with HyperNeWS 1.4 or later (but
> optionally), and so on.

I don't think the point of an Environment line is to express exactly
which systems the package will run under. What's important is that it
say where the package *won't* run, so that people avoid downloading the
package if they won't be able to use it. So:

Environment: !SunOS<3.4, !SVR<3, !(Motif 1.1 & X11R3), ?!UNIX

Translation: Won't run under SunOS before 3.4, won't run under System V
release 2, won't run under Motif 1.1 with X11R3, probably won't run
under any non-UNIX systems.

Similarly, pure-Sun packages would have Environment: !!SunOS. Packages
for just Suns and SGIs would have Environment: !(!SunOS & !SGI). Most of
my packages would have Environment: !(!BSD-derived).

This won't necessarily provide full information. So what? What's
important is that every bit of information added to an environment line
lets some people know that they shouldn't bother with the package.
Conversely, as the package is ported to more systems, the environment
restrictions will slowly disappear.

---Dan