Request for comments: port-tags

[Michael C. Shultz]

On Monday 07 November 2005 09:23, Anton Berezin wrote:
> On Mon, Nov 07, 2005 at 08:57:07AM -0800, Michael C. Shultz wrote:
> > On Monday 07 November 2005 08:44, Anton Berezin wrote:
> > > This is not very difficult to arrange.  :-)
> > >
> > >   http://bsd2.be/port-tags/TAGS.bz2
> > >
> > > Updated with the same frequency as the database itself, that is, for
> > > now daily.
> >
> > Now that is starting to look handy, from here how hard is:
> >
> > from:
> >
> > opengl|devel|esdl
> > opengl|devel|mingw-opengl-headers
> > opengl|emulators|linux-pete-mesagpu
> > opengl|emulators|linux-pete-xgl2gpu
> > opengl|games|BillardGL
> > opengl|games|airrox
> > opengl|games|briquolo
> >
> > to
> >
> > Things that use opengll|Things that use java|devel|esdl
> > Things that use opengl|Things that use java|devel|mingw-opengl-headers
> > Things that use opengl|Things that use java|emulators|linux-pete-mesagpu
> > Things that use opengl|Things that use java|emulators|linux-pete-xgl2gpu
> > Things that use opengll|Things that don't use java|games|BillardGL
> > Things that use opengl|Things don't that use java|games|airrox
> > Things that use opengl|Things that don't use java|games|briquolo
>
> Now, it is not particularly difficult to do that, but things WILL
> explode in size quite a bit, because, if we just take for example
> devel/esdl [where did you get the idea it uses java, anyway?  ;-)], we
> will quickly come to
>
> access|devel|esdl
> devel|access|esdl
> access|library|esdl
> devel|library|esdl
> library|access|esdl
> library|access|esdl
> access|opengl|esdl
> devel|opengl|esdl
> library|opengl|esdl
> opengl|access|esdl
> opengl|devel|esdl
> opengl|library|esdl
> access|dsl|esdl
> devel|dsl|esdl
> library|dsl|esdl
> opengl|dsl|esdl
> dsl|access|esdl
> dsl|devel|esdl
> dsl|library|esdl
> dsl|opengl|esdl
>
> - only for positives.  Adding negatives here,
> we'll have to list every tag which is combined with "devel" and is not
> "access" or "library" or "opengl" or "dsl", and say
>
> devel|! abstract|esdl
> devel|! column|esdl
>
> So even for two levels, what you ask pretty much does not make a lot of
> sense, provided I understood your idea (and please explain in to me one
> more time if I did not)!

One common gripe about the ports system is the two level directory structure 
is too flat, and certain folk resist rather vigorously adding sub categories. 
The sugestion put forth was to use tags as a multilevel directory structure
and using the actual structure only as place holders, so your program
could do something like this:

we all ready have:

sysutils
editors
games

like to have

tags						dirs

opengl|sysutils|file related	-=> /sysutils/some file program
opengl|sysutils|file related	-=> /misc/some other really cool file program

opengl|editors|java based	-=>/java/some java editor 
opengl|editors|notjava based	-=>/editors/some editor based on opengl

openglgame|lame			-=>/games
openglgame|not lame		-=> games

The idea is to decouple the actual ports directory structure, and come up with 
something more useful without having to change the actual ports structure.  
If your tags are only one level deep, we aren't much better off than before.  
Maybe for starters use the categories as they are for the
first level then see what a second level would look like with your program?

-Mike