Date: Sat, 28 Jun 2003 23:15:35 -0600 (CST) From: Ryan Thompson <ryan@sasknow.com> To: Bill Campbell <freebsd@celestial.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Ports -- download change options Message-ID: <20030628225154.V27140-100000@ren.sasknow.com> In-Reply-To: <20030628184647.A3770@barryg.mi.celestial.com>
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Bill Campbell wrote to freebsd-questions@freebsd.org: > When I tried installing cups on FreeBSD 4.8 today, the install balked part > way through saying that a file couldn't be downloaded, a Samsung file from > www.linuxprinting.org. It turns out that that file was just updated today > so the time and checksum don't match what's in the ports database. > > I manually downloaded the file from ftp.freebsd.org which still had the > older version, and the build is now going. > > My main question, being a freebsd newbie, is what's the accepted procedure > for dealing with things like this? Here's what I'd suggest for ports bugs on ports you don't maintain. This checklist grew out of years of port use, port maintainership, and reading the documentation others have written. So, it's my own, and not my own at all. IMHO, YMMV, IANAL, FWIW, AFAIC, TIOLI. It seems to work, though. :-) 1. Ensure your ports collection is up to date. The distinfo may already be up to date. 2. Let the fetch process fetch the updated version, and ignore the checksum with "make NO_CHECKSUM=yes". Beware the risk to integrity and security when using this option; verify the contents of the distfile yourself if you're paranoid. This will get you up and running. 3. Check for an recently opened PR for the port you're building, to see if a fix might be in progress. 4. Verify that the distfile version you have downloaded is indeed updated, builds correctly, and is really the correct version of the distfile, and not some transient mishap from the master sites. Consider sending an email to ports@FreeBSD.org if you're unsure of how to proceed, based on what you've observed. CC the MAINTAINER of the port if you do this. 5. Email the MAINTAINER of the port to point out your findings, and possibly include a patch. If the maintainer is ports@FreeBSD.org, consider assuming maintainership of the port if you are up to the task. Otherwise, submit your own PR. 6. Give the maintainer time to update the port. If you don't receive a response after a while (at *least* a week, longer in the summer months), you might try another polite reminder, wait another week, and then submit your own PR, indicating that the maintainer seems to be unresponsive. 7. Give the ports committers time to commit the change. Urgent fixes are usually committed within a couple of days. Less urgent fixes, sometimes longer. If it remains uncommitted for a while, you might consider sending a message to ports@FreeBSD.org and request that a committer look at your PR. 8. Once committed, give yourself a pat on the back for helping the project in one small but important way. If you end up submitting a PR, sending a patch will drastically improve the response time of the committers/maintainer. If you're not sure how to do this, ask ports@FreeBSD.org. Someone will help you with your particular problem. The general idea is to reduce the load on the committers. I think the above is a rather methodical approach... you might skip a step or two, depending on the circumstances. Namely, if you don't have time/expertise to track down the bug yourself, at least email someone. :-) Hope this helps, - Ryan -- Ryan Thompson <ryan@sasknow.com> SaskNow Technologies - http://www.sasknow.com 901-1st Avenue North - Saskatoon, SK - S7K 1Y4 Tel: 306-664-3600 Fax: 306-244-7037 Saskatoon Toll-Free: 877-727-5669 (877-SASKNOW) North America
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