Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2002 08:45:37 -0700 (PDT) From: Jonathan Laventhol <jonathan-dot-laventhol@imagination.com> To: freebsd-gnats-submit@FreeBSD.org Subject: ports/43454: Packages hard to find, often missing Message-ID: <200209281545.g8SFjbFP060652@www.freebsd.org>
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>Number: 43454 >Category: ports >Synopsis: Packages hard to find, often missing >Confidential: no >Severity: serious >Priority: medium >Responsible: freebsd-ports >State: open >Quarter: >Keywords: >Date-Required: >Class: sw-bug >Submitter-Id: current-users >Arrival-Date: Sat Sep 28 08:50:02 PDT 2002 >Closed-Date: >Last-Modified: >Originator: Jonathan Laventhol >Release: 4.6.2-RELEASE (and many other -RELEASE) >Organization: Imagination Ltd >Environment: n/a >Description: It appears that the package mechanism is rusting, in that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get the packages from the web site. Specifically, http://www.freebsd.org/ports/index.html refers to packages but has no easy way to find them. Further, even if you can find a link to a package, it often doesn't exist. If we're not going to support packages, lets get rid of them so that users KNOW they have to learn how to compile things. >How-To-Repeat: http://www.freebsd.org/ports/index.html click on foe example java and not a single package is listed Instead you have to do a search, get a result which shows a different search input: http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/ports.cgi?query=java&stype=all now you can change the pulldown to 4.6-RELEASE and search which gives you: http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/ports.cgi?query=java&stype=all&release=4.6-RELEASE%2Fi386 These results have packages listed. BUT many of them don't exist, for example ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/i386/packages-4.6-release/All/jre-1.1.8.tgz there is no such file >Fix: This is a project management or web site problem. On the assumption that it's not a simple case of some files getting lost. Recommendations based on assumption that we are trying to help USERS rather than DEVELOPERS (for the simple reason that developers have more skills and ways to get out of problems) 1. Have the web site default 'applications' link be to latest -RELEASE rather than to -CURRENT 2. Rebuild the indexes more frequently ... the fact that the index says there is a package surely means that there was a package at some point. Even if it got removed (for good or bad reason) the web page link shouldn't dangle. 3. Find out why the packages aren't there and put them back My opinion is that the packages are one of the MOST important things about FreeBSD in relation to its usability. Best regards >Release-Note: >Audit-Trail: >Unformatted: To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-ports" in the body of the message
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