On Tue, Aug 24, 2004 at 12:13:31PM -0700, Jay O'Brien wrote: > Charles Ulrich wrote: > > > The phrase "ports > > build packages" is a neat and efficient way of rectifying the > > misunderstandings that can occur when trying to give a proper > > explanation of FreeBSD package management.
> Thank you for concisely answering a burning question I didn't
> know how to ask. I had gathered the concept that if I built a
> "port" I was stuck with it, because it couldn't be removed as
> easily as something installed as a package.
That phrase -- "ports build packages" is just so right on so many
levels. Except for the literal description of what actually happens.
If I was feeling pedantic, I'd say "ports build and install software,
and also create a packaging list. A package is simply a shortcut
method of using that packaging list to gather together all of those
files into an archive in order to copy them to a different machine."
But it really doesn't have the same ring to it.
Most people know that to build a package you simply change to the
correct ports directory and type:
# make package
Which is fine and dandy most of the time. What deserves to be more
widely known is that you can create a package fron any already
installed port:
# pkg_create -b pkg-name
which saves a lot of effort trying to recompile things and is a really
handy way to back stuff up.
As it stands, you can't make a package without also installing the
corresponding port. For many reasons it would be very handy to avoid
that: ie. to be able to install the port into a chroot'ed area and
assemble the package from there. Avoids conflicts with already
installed ports or the need to de-install and re-install a port if you
want a different set of options for the package. Also a lot of the
time it would make it feasible to build packages as a mortal user,
rather than requiring root access.
This has been discussed on several occasions in the
[EMAIL PROTECTED] list, and there are various patch sets floating
around. As I understand it though, quite a lot of ports would need
remedial work if that functionality was to be introduced, which is
what has kept anything from being committed yet.
Cheers,
Matthew
--
Dr Matthew J Seaman MA, D.Phil. 26 The Paddocks
Savill Way
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