From f0c35f03261f4d19dc4852b407ed0d5cdeafc818 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Alejandro R Mosteo <amosteo@unizar.es>
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2023 11:23:57 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] Enable shared dependencies by default (#1449)

* Set shared dependencies as the default

* user-changes.md: Explain shared builds
---
 doc/user-changes.md                 | 31 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 src/alire/alire-config-builtins.ads |  2 +-
 2 files changed, 32 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/doc/user-changes.md b/doc/user-changes.md
index 971b282ed..5553e5990 100644
--- a/doc/user-changes.md
+++ b/doc/user-changes.md
@@ -6,6 +6,37 @@ stay on top of `alr` new features.
 
 ## Release `2.0-dev`
 
+### Enable shared dependencies by default
+
+PR [#1449](https://github.com/alire-project/alire/pull/1449)
+
+Pre-2.0, Alire worked always in "sandboxed" mode; that is, all source
+dependencies were found under `<workspace>/alire/cache`. This behavior can be
+now enabled with `alr config --set dependencies.shared false`, locally or
+globally.
+
+By default, post-2.0, Alire works in "shared" mode, where sources are
+downloaded once (to `~/.cache/alire/releases`) and unique builds are created
+(under `~/.cache/alire/builds`) for unique configurations. This should minimize
+rebuilds across crate configurations and workspaces, and eliminate risks of
+inconsistencies.
+
+Disk use is decreased by unique source downloads, but might be increased by
+unique build configurations. Cache management and cleanup will be provided down
+the road. The build cache can always be deleted to retrieve disk space, at the
+cost of triggering rebuilds.
+
+Unique builds are identified by a build hash which takes into account the
+following inputs for a given release:
+
+- Build profile
+- Environment variables modified in the manifest
+- GPR external variables declared or set
+- Configuration variables declared or set
+- Compiler version
+- Vaue of `LIBRARY_TYPE` and `<CRATE>_LIBRARY_TYPE` variables.
+- Hash of dependencies
+
 ### Automatic index updates
 
 PR [#1447](https://github.com/alire-project/alire/pull/1447)
diff --git a/src/alire/alire-config-builtins.ads b/src/alire/alire-config-builtins.ads
index befaf089c..f53175cc6 100644
--- a/src/alire/alire-config-builtins.ads
+++ b/src/alire/alire-config-builtins.ads
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ package Alire.Config.Builtins is
 
    Dependencies_Shared : constant Builtin := New_Builtin
      (Key  => "dependencies.shared",
-      Def  => False,
+      Def  => True,
       Help =>
         "When true, dependencies are downloaded and built in a shared "
       & "location inside the global cache. When false, "