[OE-core] value of "PACKAGE_BEFORE_PN" versus "PACKAGES =+"?

[Paul Eggleton]

On Thursday 03 January 2013 06:27:57 Robert P. J. Day wrote:
>   predictably, a few minutes after i posted, i realized what was going
> on.  i was a bit confused since the variable name, PACKAGE_BEFORE_PN,
> was so terrifically generic when its purpose is clearly to deal with
> library packages for which (as you say) you'd like to break out the
> generated binary artifacts under /usr/bin and /usr/sbin as a separate
> output package, which makes sense.

It does exactly what it says - puts package(s) before PN.

>   the point i was trying to make above (probably badly) was that it
> seemed unlikely there was much (effective) difference between, as you
> point out, usage of P_B_P and using =+:
> 
> PACKAGES = "${PN}-dbg ${PN}-staticdev ${PN}-dev ${PN}-doc ${PN}-locale
> ${PACKAGE_BEFORE_PN} ${PN}"
> 
> unless those earlier packages in the above would greedily suck up any
> of /usr/bin or /usr/sbin.

That's correct. PACKAGE_BEFORE_PN just makes things a little easier.

>   is there any value in setting FILES_${PN}-bin without inheriting
> lib_package?

If ${PN}-bin has otherwise been added to PACKAGES, sure.

> see oe-core/meta/recipes-multimedia/pulseaudio, where
> pulseaudio.inc contains the line:
> 
> FILES_${PN}-bin += "${sysconfdir}/default/volatiles/volatiles.04_pulse"
> 
> but there is no reference to lib_package anywhere in that recipe
> directory.  so what's the point of that line above?

Looks like this is a mistake (or something left over from an earlier revision 
of the recipe) since ${PN}-bin isn't in PACKAGES for pulseaudio.

Cheers,
Paul
-- 

Paul Eggleton
Intel Open Source Technology Centre