From owner-freebsd-newbies  Mon Nov 19 19:25:22 2001
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Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 22:23:20 -0500
From: leegold <leegold@operamail.com>
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Subject: ports vs. packages
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Trying to get a handle on difference between ports
and packages re: FreeBsd.

"To Port" the verb, means to make an application,
a program "runnable" on a particular OS.

"A Port" the noun, is usually source code, config
scripts, other stuff, that a user runs the "make"
command on to compile & install a new program.

A Package is a (compiled) binary, along with
"other stuff" that installs a new program.

FreeBsd has a ports collection which we can install
on our system it serves as kind of a database to
tell us what ports and pakages ie. what programs
we have installed.

Is this close to reality?

Thanks.

PS given a choice between
installing a program via a port vs. a package
 what should one do? 


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