From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Fri Sep 7 06:18:49 2007 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 45F6116A417 for ; Fri, 7 Sep 2007 06:18:49 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from oceanare@pacific.net.sg) Received: from smtpgate4.pacific.net.sg (smtpgate4.pacific.net.sg [203.81.36.24]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 7CDA013C481 for ; Fri, 7 Sep 2007 06:18:48 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from oceanare@pacific.net.sg) Received: (qmail 17140 invoked from network); 7 Sep 2007 06:18:32 -0000 Received: from bb121-7-106-120.singnet.com.sg (HELO P2120.somewherefaraway.com) (oceanare@121.7.106.120) by smtpgate4.pacific.net.sg with ESMTPA; 7 Sep 2007 06:18:31 -0000 Message-ID: <46E0ED32.4020409@pacific.net.sg> Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2007 14:18:26 +0800 From: Erich Dollansky User-Agent: Thunderbird 2.0.0.6 (X11/20070826) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: cothrige References: In-Reply-To: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Newbie questions about updating X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2007 06:18:49 -0000 Hi, let me give some very basic answers. cothrige wrote: > ports system is completely separate from the OS itself, and that these Applications have nothing to do with the operating system. In theory at least. Practically it is more limited. > can be upgraded or updated separately. From what I can see this seems Yes, as long as the port tree still supports the OS. A strange example: FreeBSD 1.0 is not supported anymore with the current port tree. > to most often involve CVSup, and I have been operating under the Yes. > assumption that one must run two cvsup operations with two separate > supfiles to update both the core OS and the ports. Am I understanding > this correctly? > It seems for me to be the best choice. > Assuming I am, my main confusion concerns just how these two systems > actually interact and relate to each other, and whether there are any They do not interact. The operating system provides the base for the applications. As long as base and application fit together, it all simply works. > requirements connecting updating each of them together? For instance, There is no requirement. Upgrading the operating system should be done if there are bug fixes provides or if you want to switch to a newer version. > I have downloaded the FreeBSD 6.2 install discs and have finished the Just stick with 6.2 for the moment. > basic installation and setup. Now at some point if I wish to update > the ports does that mean I have to update the OS to a particular No problem. > level? If I don't want to run stable and use "tag=RELENG_6_2" will I > be required to keep the ports as they have installed from the disc? > Is there any connection between how current the ports are and how > current the OS is? > Wait, you do not install ports from the disc, you install packages from the disc. This is a small difference. Ports are source based, packages are binaries. > One of the things which caused me to wonder about this was that some > time back I tried FreeBSD out for a while and ran into some oddities > concerning the ports system. When I first finished setting things up > I could install packages using "pkg_add -r", but noticed that after > updating the ports I could no longer do that. That struck me as odd, Updating the ports tree means actually switching to ports but you still can use packages via "portupgrade". > and because of it I always had a suspicion that I had broken the > system with my out of whack updates (I did not move up to stable at > that time) but I just never could really find out if that were so. > Never forget, the ports tree is a live object. It can happen that you upgrade now and find a ruined system, then upgrade a minute later and the system is fine again. > One last newb question is concerning cvsup itself. In reference to > ports is there a difference, in the end, between this and portsnap? There should be no difference at the final end. Erich