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Date:      Wed, 4 Jul 2012 18:03:05 -0700
From:      Tim Kientzle <tim@kientzle.com>
To:        Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org>
Cc:        hackers@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Better error messages for command not found (was Re: Pull in upstream before 9.1 code freeze?)
Message-ID:  <2EA305F0-87D9-47BE-B3E6-366659BF77AF@kientzle.com>
In-Reply-To: <20120704203711.2732b645@bhuda.mired.org>
References:  <86bojxow6x.fsf@ds4.des.no> <4FF35864.5030109@FreeBSD.org> <CAC8HS2Hx%2BqV1zYSzyM6wYzbyA6BStd3HEwc-VDhv40DHM=qCvw@mail.gmail.com> <CAOjFWZ5ikPz_yDhEQutiXVG354qRHYJTn-M_S4Cx-=YRgFP7eQ@mail.gmail.com> <20120704185104.GA42355@DataIX.net> <4FF4B36A.2040608@FreeBSD.org> <20120704180134.7c649e1b@bhuda.mired.org> <4FF4BEED.10103@FreeBSD.org> <20120704225519.GB19945@DataIX.net> <4FF4CAD1.8080804@FreeBSD.org> <20120704234104.GA392@DataIX.net> <8E9DECBB-3D1E-4129-A958-9DB0DF69ECC3@kientzle.com> <4FF4E105.50502@FreeBSD.org> <20120704203711.2732b645@bhuda.mired.org>

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On Jul 4, 2012, at 5:37 PM, Mike Meyer wrote:

> On Wed, 04 Jul 2012 17:34:13 -0700
> Doug Barton <dougb@FreeBSD.org> wrote:
>>> As a first prototype, the database could just be a text file
>>> and the look up program could be a shell script that uses
>>> grep and sed.
>> Right-O. The db should almost certainly be updated and distributed as
>> part of the (already automated) INDEX generation and distribution process.
> 
> There are already tools in the ports tree that do the
> search. Personally, I use portsearch.

Very close.  Unfortunately, portsearch seems to require
an installed /usr/ports tree.  A system that generated a database
and searched that database would be useful also by people who
preferred packages over ports.

> Tweaking them to use INDEX (or
> tweaking the makefile to generate their database with INDEX) should be
> straightforward.

INDEX can't be used in its current form because it doesn't have filenames
(just port names).

But yes, a lot of the key pieces already exist in various
places.  Just need someone to piece it together and make
it actually work.

I still think this would be a good addition to the base system
and would like to see it included in the standard release ISOs
so that new FreeBSD users can more quickly find the software
they expect.

I'm curious whether the earlier objections were due to
misunderstandings about auto-install.  Auto-install would
be problematic, but the feature being discussed here does not
require installation.  Just better error messages.

Tim




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