Bug 87701

Version:            (using KDE KDE 3.2.3)
Installed from:    Gentoo Packages

In my opinion each KDE program that isn't required for the operation of KDE as a whole should be provided in its own package.

I realize that there is a DO_NOT_COMPILE variable you can set to prevent installing certain packages.  However, I consider it counterintuitive to specify the programs I DON'T want in order to get only the ones I want.  Furthermore, since the variable is somewhat nonstandard (using a varible to decide what to install rather than choosing a package to decide what to install), it doesn't always integrate well with some distributions - e.g. I have had problems with it in Gentoo but they told me it's not supported by Gentoo, that it might work and it might not but they can't guarantee it.

So basically, if this idea were used, there would be 3 choices for packages - one package containing the whole KDE, smaller packages containing groups of related parts of KDE, and still smaller packages containing each program.

People who like to have only what they need installed on their computers, which I believe is many Linux users, would really like this feature.  People who just like to install everything would not be affected because the other packages would still be available.  KDE would become easier to install on machines which have less memory / hard drive space / etc., thereby making it available on a wider range of computers.