Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 19:10:09 -0500 (EST) From: Tom Huppi <thuppi@huppi.com> To: Joaquin Menchaca <linuxuser@finnovative.net> Cc: freebsd-newbies@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Q: Latest Xorg and Packaging system Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.58.0501201817160.48357@nuumen.pair.com> In-Reply-To: <41F02DBE.7010505@finnovative.net> References: <41F02DBE.7010505@finnovative.net>
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On Thu, 20 Jan 2005, Joaquin Menchaca wrote: > Hi, > > I am unfamilar with the whole packaging system, but I somehow wandered > into the usr/ports and discovered the wonder of make install. Kewl!!!! Ya, this to me is one of the top-most nice things about FreeBSD. I've read that Debian Linux also has a coherent package management system, but so far I've not had an opportunity or strong desire to learn more about it. I've had the mis-fortune of needing to use RedRat's RPM system, and have seen mis-use of it cause undue hardship. It's also interesting to note that the DragonflyBSD project is not completely enamored with the FreeBSD ports system in it's current form and wants to re-do some things which I only vaugly understand. > What I was wondering is how to packages get into the system. Is there > an approval process. Ya, but I'm not familiar with it to any great extent. I notice on the FreeBSD home page that they announce new people with commit access and the distinguish between 'ports', 'src', and some other things iirc. Check out the 'Porter's Handbook': http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/porters-handbook/index.html ...but that may or may not be the first reading you will want to do on the subject. > Specially I wanted to install xogon 6.8.x, but in the > /usr/ports/x11/xorg, when I do make install, it's 6.7.1 I believe that near the release time of 5.3, xorg 6.7.1 was the version that was in the ports collection. Since that time, the ports skeleton has evolved and now xorg 6.8.1 is current. I happen to have built it once on one machine before this update, and twice on another machines after. The solution (to wanting xorg 6.8.1 at this moment) would be to update your ports tree, probably using 'cvsup', then use 'portupgrade' (if you've already installed 6.7.1...'pkg_delete' (XFree86) and 'make install' if not.) Obviously these are not complete instructions, just pointers. One thing which confused me early on was that normally one wants to keep the 'ports tree' version 'bleeding edge', or HEAD. This is exactly opposite of what most people should be doing with the rest of the operating system. Keep that in mind when researching how to use 'cvsup' for this purpose (the handbook has good instructions here.) I was also confused about the distinction between the 'ports' system and the 'package' system initially. I ended up prefering the 'ports' system, and I try not to mix-and-match. I like the flexibility of building from source rather than using pre-built binaries. Personal preference. Also, be aware of the tool 'pkgdb'. To manage the complexity of the system with it's 10,000 ports and all the dependencies, various tools have been developed. This has made the whole system more confusing and difficult to use, but one really 'can't make an omelet without breaking eggs' as they say. Some time with the handbook and searching google (and pondering the issues) makes things become more clear and second-nature. Definatly allow for some moments of hair-pulling, but in the end it will probably be worth it...at least I feel that it was for me. Be aware that updating your ports tree will likely create a situation where previously installed software is now no longer aligned with the ports tree version. Normally you won't even notice, but if and when it's a problem, 'portupgrade' usually handles it nicely (in my experience.) Also, don't forget to scan the text file /usr/ports/UPDATING after a 'cvsup'. It has notes about special procedures, problems, solutions and so on. Thanks, - Tom
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