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Date:      Thu, 29 Nov 2001 15:19:33 -0800
From:      "Philip J. Koenig" <pjklist@ekahuna.com>
To:        Josh Paetzel <friar_josh@webwarrior.net>
Cc:        questions@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: Am I forced to install Xfree86?
Message-ID:  <3C065205.5494.1E31B7@localhost>
In-Reply-To: <20011129152327.D522@twincat.vladsempire.net>
References:  <3C05DAEE.4140.1F43C46@localhost>; from pjklist@ekahuna.com on Thu, Nov 29, 2001 at 06:51:26AM -0800

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On 29 Nov 2001, at 15:23, Josh Paetzel boldly uttered: 

> On Thu, Nov 29, 2001 at 06:51:26AM -0800, Philip J. Koenig wrote:
> > Speaking of the devil here.. (see below)
> > 
> > Can someone please tell me *why* installing the port of a simple 
> > command-line ping utility (mtr, otherwise known as Matt's traceroute) 
> > requires retrieving 30MB of Xfree86 files, compiling and installing, 
> > on a machine that doesn't run X?  It seems to have something to do 
> > with "gmake", which is a dependency of mtr.
> 
> No.  In the case of mtr, it's the gtk dependancy that is the issue.  
> In reality the question of a port dependancy isn't a FreeBSD issue per 
> sae, it's an issue with the port.  If you want to know "why" the port 
> requires a certain dependancy, it's probably more productive to ask 
> the port maintainer or the author of the program.  I doubt that 
> knowing the answer to the why question is going to change the fact 
> that X is a required dependancy, though.  
> 
> A quick look at the Makefile for a port will tell you what 
> dependancies it relies upon.  Occasionaly there are ports that can be 
> built with a WITHOUT_X=YES target as well.  (cvsup-bin comes to mind)


Thanks, I do remember this from my dealings with cvsup, and someone 
else emailed me about this as well.  See below.


> As a test, I built mtr on my X workstation and it in fact is not a 
> command line program at all.  It came up in a gtk window and was all 
> pointy clicky.  I built it on my firewall, which does not have X, and 
> it installed as a command line program, but it did give me this 
> message: To install with GTK support type WITH_GTK=YES.


All I did was cd to the port directory and type "make" and then "make 
install". (the way it's supposed to work, AFAIK)  I got no such 
question during the port build.

 
> So to me it looks as if it should work just fine in either 
> environment.  It made no attempt to fetch X or gtk on my firewall.


Very weird.  Did you build the port, or did you fetch the source 
directly from the developer?


> > Am I really *that* insane wanting to build BSD boxes without X, when 
> > simple command-line utilities like that force me to install all that 
> > stuff anyway?
> 
> No.  But you are insane to want to use X based programs without X. ;)
> Pick your poison carefully.


Well, as I can well attest, it is not an "X program" (at least not a 
dedicated one), because it now works fine, just like it always has, 
as a command-line program, without X running. (and I now have 50-
100MB of wasted space devoted to unwanted X junk)


Phil



--
Philip J. Koenig                                       pjklist@ekahuna.com
Electric Kahuna Systems -- Computers & Communications for the New Millenium


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