[oe] RFC: When PREFERRED_PROVIDER does not build, don't try other alternatives by default

[Rod Whitby]

Phil Blundell wrote:
> On Sat, 2008-08-30 at 17:40 +0930, Rod Whitby wrote:
>> Whenever I build virtual/kernel, and for some reason (perhaps a git
>> fetcher problem, or a patch doesn't apply cleanly) it doesn't build,
>> bitbake decides to then go and build every other kernel under the sun
>> trying to complete virtual/kernel.
> 
> It shouldn't be doing that in the first place.  If PREFERRED_PROVIDER is
> set and that package is considered statically buildable, bitbake will
> try to build it.  If PREFERRED_PROVIDER names a package which is
> statically unbuildable, bitbake will proceed as if that variable wasn't
> set at all and select one according to its other rules.  In either case,
> once it has made its determination, it will try to build that one
> package and no other.  If the selected package turns out to be
> dynamically unbuildable (which would include the reasons you mentioned
> above) then it will stop.
> 
> So, it sounds like the behaviour you are experiencing is a bug rather
> than a feature.

Ah, I forgot to say that the circumstances in which I see this are
probably coincident with when I invoke bitbake with -k.

-- Rod