[Buildroot] [PATCH 1/4] package/goc: new virtual package

[Christian Stewart]

Yann,

On Mon, Oct 17, 2022 at 10:55 AM Yann E. MORIN <yann.morin.1998 at free.fr> wrote:
>
> Christian, All,
>
> On 2022-10-17 09:06 -0700, Christian Stewart spake thusly:
> > On Mon, Oct 17, 2022, 7:29 AM Thomas Perale < [1]thomas.perale at essensium.com> wrote:
> >   This virtual package implement the already existing go compiler compiled
> >   from source and shows it on the host package menu.
> >   The usage of a virtual package on top of the go compiler enable the
> >   supports of for multiple providers for the Go compiler.
> > Is it not possible to continue using the existing host-go target and
> > simply add a parameter which enables downloading the precompiled
> > version instead?
> > Rather than add a new package.
>
> In fact, we want to have a similar implementation for rust, go, nodejs,
> so (without looking at the details of this series), I guess Thomas
> Perale took the same approach as the existing rust situation, like
> Thomas Petazzoni did in the recent host-nodejs series:
>
>     https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/buildroot/list/?series=319967

Thomas changed host-nodejs to be a metapackage:

https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/buildroot/patch/20220925204030.1661583-3-thomas.petazzoni@bootlin.com/

This is not what this series does, which is to add a new host-goc
package and refactor all Go packages to point to this new one.

Sidenote: having a rust-bin and nodejs-bin makes sense, as those take
a /very long/ time to compile. Having a go-bin on the other hand does
not make as much sense, because compiling the Go compiler is fast
(about 1 minute vs. Rust's 1 hour).

In my opinion:

 - Do not add a new host-goc package.
 - Add parameter to host-go to select which compiler to use:
   - bin
   - src
   - host go compiler (see patch linked below)
 - If src is buildable: default to it
 - If src is not buildable: default to host Go compiler
 - Or if the parameter is set: use bin download

This patch already solves the issue of selecting when to use the host
go compiler or not:

https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/buildroot/patch/20220725011322.1301684-1-christian@paral.in/

... it would be straightforward to add the Config parameter + binary
download to host-go after applying that commit.

My reasoning for why:

 - Avoid refactoring all Go packages across the tree.
 - Avoid confusing "goc" name (not used in Go ecosystem)
 - Backwards compatible with existing configs.
 - Fewer packages to maintain, easier to understand structure.

I'll have a look at submitting a RFC series adjusting this one to the
above structure.

Thanks,
Christian Stewart