Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 09:44:02 -0700 From: Steve D <groups@xscd.com> To: questions@FreeBSD.org Cc: richard michael bagstad <aeshmadeva@earthlink.net> Subject: Re: frustration (freeBSD ports system) Message-ID: <200312170944.02340.groups@xscd.com> In-Reply-To: <4C59B4B7-302B-11D8-A4A5-000393DC2A18@earthlink.net> References: <4C59B4B7-302B-11D8-A4A5-000393DC2A18@earthlink.net>
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On Tuesday 16 December 2003 05:52 pm, richard michael bagstad wrote: > i find this frustrating. on your website (page > http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/ports- > using.html) the following tells me that 'from cd' and 'from > internet' are exactly the same... it does not tell me the directory > of (ie.) lsof. it simply tells me to 'make install'. please help a > poor green newbie. --- Hello from one FreeBSD newbie to another -- In FreeBSD, the "ports" are basically information and instructions for various system utility programs (like the program make), in order to automate, to some extent, the installation of programs that the FreeBSD user would like to install. All of the ports reside in the directory: /usr/ports which is to say that inside the /usr directory, which is one of the "top level" directories (immediately under the "root" directory), there is a directory called "ports", and inside that directory are quite a few directories which are categories of related programs, such as "audio", "editors", "finance", "databases" etc. In each of those subdirectories there are directories for many different programs, each in its own subdirectory, like: /usr/ports/editors/nedit nedit is a text editor whose information and instructions reside in the directory "nedit" that is inside the directory "editors" which is itself inside the "ports" directory in the directory "usr" It is important to remember that the program itself is not inside its associated directory (nedit, the program or its source files, are not inside the /usr/ports/editors/nedit directory). Instead, the information and instructions contained within the nedit directory tell the system to look for and get the files it needs to "build" nedit. The usual place these files are stored (after they are placed there by the user or a program) is in /usr/ports/distfiles. If the files are not already in /usr/ports/distfiles, then they will be fetched via the Internet (you must be connected to the Internet at the time, of course) and placed in the /usr/ports/distfiles directory. If, on the other hand, you happen to have a CD that has those distfiles already on it, you can copy those files, yourself, from the CD into the directory /usr/ports/distfiles. Then when you enter one of the ports directories like: cd /usr/ports/editors/nedit and issue the following command: make the file(s) will be found in the /usr/ports/distfiles directory (because you placed them there yourself, by copying them from a CD), instead of the system having to get them from the Internet. I hope this makes sense. Best wishes, Steve D -- ---------------------------------------------------------------- You grow up on the day you have your first real laugh at yourself. -Ethel Barrymore ----------------------------------------------------------------
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