Date: Fri, 3 Jul 2015 16:52:21 +0200 From: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> To: kpneal@pobox.com Cc: "William F. Dudley Jr." <wfdudley@gmail.com>, freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: portmaster -af fails due to dead port - HELP Message-ID: <20150703165221.1bba26b8.freebsd@edvax.de> In-Reply-To: <20150703141324.GA72399@neutralgood.org> References: <CAFsnNZK120bMrk3qUX2AHK_y%2BZtf_xYC8feqYrHChharh7rv=Q@mail.gmail.com> <20150702195510.GA2863@oslo.ath.cx> <CAFsnNZJLKbPeOyi6M--DZyxW9oqKoMj3YECdmn0vJAzRnHSB0w@mail.gmail.com> <CAFsnNZL4ak3j7RhCBBiJ5JBh6jT=Jr%2BjO5xrdPqUQNe3Ah_5BQ@mail.gmail.com> <20150703023514.GA4554@neutralgood.org> <5595FC4A.6020402@gmail.com> <20150703141324.GA72399@neutralgood.org>
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On Fri, 3 Jul 2015 10:13:24 -0400, kpneal@pobox.com wrote: > On Thu, Jul 02, 2015 at 11:06:50PM -0400, William F. Dudley Jr. wrote: > > need complicated right now, I need simple. I just want to update the > > machine from > > 8.4 to 9.3, update the packages, and then ignore it for a few weeks to > > months. The reason > > my ports are so out of date is because it's such a nightmare to keep > > them updated. > > I hate working with ports and packages -- it's always a descent into > > dependency hell. > > Use pkg with binary packages. Life is much easier. I used to use portmaster, > but with pkg and binary packages I don't see a need anymore. Fully agree. When you do not need custom compile-time options (or only need them in very few cases), using pkg is the way to go. It's so easy to install software and keep it updated. No "dependency hell" as sometimes seen on Linux where an update that went wrong could render your whole (!) system unusable... Sometimes, starting from scratch is far easier than doing the update cycle(s). An OS re-installation is quickly done, and armed with a list of your "top priority software", you can have pkg install everything that is needed. It will install the current version, and you'll be able to binarily update them whenever you wish. Similarly, freebsd-update works excellently for updating the OS without requiring to build from source. Using source today is only required for corner cases, for example when you need to set compile-time options for your ports or want to follow the -HEAD development branch of the operating system. Regarding "ports and/or packages": As it has been mentioned, ports and packages are basically the same thing, and pkg is the system's means to track what's installed on the system. So even if you build from source, you're using pkg (because first a package is built, then pkg installs that package from its local source). It's important to understand that simple fact. So my suggestion and summary would be: Use pkg, start from scratch, install what you need, and keep using pkg to update your installed ports. And note that "ports" means "packages" in this case. :-) -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...
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