From owner-freebsd-doc Sun Apr 30 15: 7:26 2000 Delivered-To: freebsd-doc@freebsd.org Received: from nothing-going-on.demon.co.uk (nothing-going-on.demon.co.uk [193.237.89.66]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9BF6037BDD5 for ; Sun, 30 Apr 2000 15:07:19 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from nik@nothing-going-on.demon.co.uk) Received: from kilt.nothing-going-on.org (kilt.nothing-going-on.org [192.168.1.18]) by nothing-going-on.demon.co.uk (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id WAA51876; Sun, 30 Apr 2000 22:12:38 +0100 (BST) (envelope-from nik@catkin.nothing-going-on.org) Received: (from nik@localhost) by kilt.nothing-going-on.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA01098; Sat, 29 Apr 2000 15:43:24 +0100 (BST) (envelope-from nik@catkin.nothing-going-on.org) Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 15:43:24 +0100 From: Nik Clayton To: Salvo Bartolotta Cc: freebsd-doc@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: some suggestions for the handbook Message-ID: <20000429154324.E706@kilt.nothing-going-on.org> References: <20000421.484100@bartequi.ottodomain.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Mailer: Mutt 1.0.1i In-Reply-To: <20000421.484100@bartequi.ottodomain.org>; from bartequi@neomedia.it on Fri, Apr 21, 2000 at 12:48:41AM +0000 Organization: FreeBSD Project Sender: owner-freebsd-doc@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk X-Loop: FreeBSD.org On Fri, Apr 21, 2000 at 12:48:41AM +0000, Salvo Bartolotta wrote: > Chapter 4.3 Troubleshooting > Q: So why bother with ports then ? > > > Why not add a new list item e.g. something like "The ports mechanism > makes every effort to customize a piece of ported software to the > specific hardare and software configuration of your system; as a > result, software installed via the ports mechanism may work better." > I've added something based on that. > Q: I did that, but when I tried to put it into /usr/ports/distfiles I > got some errors about not having permission. > > > I seem to understand that this is no longer relevant, at least it > isn't on my 3.4-S and 4.0-S systems. In fact, I can write to > /usr/ports/distfiles (e.g. copying tarballs.) If this is the (general > ?) case, this question should be removed. > The question refers to the previous question, where /usr/ports/distfiles is a symlink to the CDROM. You will not be able to write to the CDROM. . . > Q: I have heard that some compiler options can cause bugs [omissis] > > > Why not add something like "Specifying no option, ie issuing only > "make install", is NOT supposed to cause problems, anyway." > > This might make things clearer, especially for newbies. > Agreed, and done. > Q: I like having lots and lots of programs to play with [omissis] > > > Why not add a warning such as: > "WARNING: The Ports Collection consists of over 3,000 ports; software > conflicts do arise if you install ports thoughtlessly. In particular, > ports performing a similar function *might* overwrite one another's > files, inter alia. Albeit you can install a great many ports on your > system, and even a few ports having similar functions (ie in the same > category or subcategory), you should do that *cum* *grano* *salis*" > Agreed, text based on the above has been added. Many thanks for the suggestions. N -- Internet connection, $19.95 a month. Computer, $799.95. Modem, $149.95. Telephone line, $24.95 a month. Software, free. USENET transmission, hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Thinking before posting, priceless. Somethings in life you can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard. -- Graham Reed, in the Scary Devil Monastery To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-doc" in the body of the message