From owner-freebsd-ports Mon Mar 2 20:43:49 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) id UAA00744 for freebsd-ports-outgoing; Mon, 2 Mar 1998 20:43:49 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from owner-freebsd-ports@FreeBSD.ORG) Received: from eeyore.taz.tac.com (sblee@eeyore.taz.tac.com [199.5.193.1]) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id UAA00689 for ; Mon, 2 Mar 1998 20:43:45 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from sblee@eeyore.taz.tac.com) Received: (from sblee@localhost) by eeyore.taz.tac.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id XAA22387; Mon, 2 Mar 1998 23:43:05 -0500 From: Sue Bauer-Lee Message-Id: <199803030443.XAA22387@eeyore.taz.tac.com> Subject: Re: bulding new versions To: ac199@hwcn.org Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 23:43:04 -0500 (EST) Cc: ports@FreeBSD.ORG In-Reply-To: from "Tim Vanderhoek" at Mar 2, 98 05:06:19 pm Content-Type: text Sender: owner-freebsd-ports@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk X-Loop: FreeBSD.org To all who were able to assist, thank you. After resolving the missing library link, I was able to complete the build and installation of XFCE. I also found what I guess I was really looking for - the config stuff used by the ports collection - makefiles (or script defs), etc. Made a couple of changes to suit my env and off we went. > > My favourite autoconf scripts are the ones that don't probe > deeply enough. For any potential autoconf-script-writers out > there, I happen to think the best scripts only do minimal to > reasonable probing, but they do check for all needed > capabilities. They provide a method to override everything and > anything they probe. They also fail with a helpful message if > something such as the missing library -lxforms or headers can't > be found. I like this idea. Wonder what would be required to make it happen. > > > > I would like an easier alternative to adding packages to FreeBsd. > > > > 'An easier alternative'? Than either of (1) selecting a package from a > > menu, and (2) cd /usr/ports/x11/xfce && make install ? > > I agree with Sue and would like an easier alternative, too. > There are actually a lot of things I would like. :) Something > that throws up a nicely organized list of "What would you like to > do today?", and responds to keyword queries with both appropriate > categories (having something less than the weighty list of ports > existing categories do) and individual port suggestions. This > utilility could cough up URLs associated with the port, and > handle everything from one interface. Something like an improved > and refined version of msmith's `pib' backed by an equally > improved and refined ports system. > > [Not to suggest that pib is in any way deficient! :-] > even if there was a way to 'customize' what currently exists; i.e. modify options that some of the scripts use (fetch -p), how it handles the inability to gain access to ftp sites that it tries to download files from and gets rejected, etc. Came across an interesting one today. I think it was a downloaded copy of fvwm95. Options in the 'make install' required GNU utility arguements that the FreeBSD versions didn't support - such as 'cp -vp' and 'ln -svf' to name a couple. End result, rather than fight all the changes, was to mount CD and run 'sysinstall'. Easy enough to do if you are physically at the machine and/or what's on the CD is a current version. ----------------------------------------------------- Sue Bauer-Lee | KE4HNN PO Box 2900 | Lilburn, GA 30048 | Email: sblee@taz.tac.com ----------------------------------------------------- To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-ports" in the body of the message