Date: Sun, 22 May 2011 09:41:46 +0100 From: Matthew Seaman <m.seaman@infracaninophile.co.uk> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Not able to install firefox 4 from 8.2 stable packages Message-ID: <4DD8CC4A.1080207@infracaninophile.co.uk> In-Reply-To: <BANLkTinCtmxjjVVx2=n7sp5-P05PBuCG%2Bw@mail.gmail.com> References: <BANLkTinCtmxjjVVx2=n7sp5-P05PBuCG%2Bw@mail.gmail.com>
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This is an OpenPGP/MIME signed message (RFC 2440 and 3156) --------------enig79E127B53BC3F80CA50E6189 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable On 22/05/2011 06:35, Xn Nooby wrote: > I'm a struggling nooby. I am trying to install firefox 4 on a fresh > 8.2 installation. I want to the core system to track the "errata" > branch, and get binary packages from 8-stable (which has firefox 4). >=20 >=20 > I installed FreeBSD 8.2 release. >=20 > # freebsd-update fetch install >=20 > rebooted >=20 > # portsnap fetch extract >=20 > use BASH shell >=20 > # export PACKAGESITE=3D"ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/amd64/p= ackages-8-stable/Latest/" >=20 > installed x11 and icewm >=20 > # pkg_add -r firefox >=20 > get perl conflict between 5.10 and 5.12 >=20 > # pkg_add -fr firefox >=20 > firefox installs but I get "firefox3" instead of firefox 4.0 >=20 > # pkg_info| grep firefox >=20 > shows "firefox-3.6.13,1" >=20 > trying to use source >=20 > # cd /usr/ports/www/firefox > # make install clean >=20 > get errors about firefox 4.0.1 needing nspr>=3D4.8.7 >=20 > # pkg_add -r nspr >=20 > says nspr-4.8.6 or older is already installed # portsnap fetch update # cd /usr/ports/ports-mgmt/portmaster # make install # portmaster --check-depends # portmaster www/firefox Portmaster will upgrade any out-of-date dependencies for you, which will include upgrading devel/nspr to version 4.8.7 (the latest available in ports at this time) as part of the process of compiling and installing the software from ports. Your experience illustrates some of the biggest problems with ports/packages -- there's no concept of 'alternate dependencies' in compiled packages. This means that if you install software that has, eg. a dependency on perl using packages from ftp.freebsd.org, then you will have to install the default lang/perl5.10 perl port. If you install from source using the ports then the system is a lot more flexible and will allow you to mix and match whatever versions you require a lot more freely. -- similarly, the dependencies recorded in a pkg list exactly the versions they were compiled against. pkg_add will accept a *newer* version of a pkg when it is trying pull down any dependency packages, but not an older one, even if the software would work perfectly well when compiled against the older version. There isn't a mechanism for saying eg. "this pkg needs any version of foobar>=3D3.1.459 because that's where some critical functionality was introduced" -- just using the standard pkg tools doesn't give you much room to understand what alternative versions of software are available, or guide you in choosing between them. So there are currently 8 different ports named matching 'firefox*', including 3 different upstream software versions, plus options to do with internationalization. You'ld need to investigate the pkg-descr files via http://www.freebsd.org/ports or http://www.freshports.org/ or by installing the ports tree, in order to make an informed choice (and you'ld need to know that those resources existed; not necessarily obvious to a beginner). -- it can be difficult to mix and match pkgs from several different repositories or from a mixture of packages and ported software; not because of any functional difference between pkgs and ports (because there isn't any) but because of dependency and version conflicts. Also, the concept of 'multiple package repositories' hasn't really penetrated the FreeBSD psyche. If you are using pkgs but not from the official FreeBSD pkg archive, then you've probably rolled your own local pkg system which you use exclusively. There is work going on to change this situation -- search the list archives for discussion of pkgNG and PC-PSD's .pci format if you're interested. In the mean time, many people find that installing everything from source via the ports is the least frustrating method, albeit at the cost of spending more time running compilations. Cheers, Matthew --=20 Dr Matthew J Seaman MA, D.Phil. 7 Priory Courtyard Flat 3 PGP: http://www.infracaninophile.co.uk/pgpkey Ramsgate JID: matthew@infracaninophile.co.uk Kent, CT11 9PW --------------enig79E127B53BC3F80CA50E6189 Content-Type: application/pgp-signature; name="signature.asc" Content-Description: OpenPGP digital signature Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="signature.asc" -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG/MacGPG2 v2.0.16 (Darwin) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iEYEARECAAYFAk3YzFIACgkQ8Mjk52CukIy5lwCggiWU4VExD81QzrhSidb5onms ieMAoITFjqxrNsPlBRAuKWDi9LXXeQ0n =XIMk -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --------------enig79E127B53BC3F80CA50E6189--
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