On Jan 17 16:48:02, mo...@macports.org wrote: > On 16 January 2018 at 18:07, islaind via macports-users wrote: > > can macports be less strict with aux packages download? > > ------------------------------------------------------- > > (on osx 10.8.5, port version 2.4.2) > > > > In installing xpdf 'port' decides to install perl 5.24 (I have already > > installed perl 5.22) > > then requires to install OpenMotif which in turn prompts me to install the > > following: > > > > perl5.16 @5.16.3 > > perl5.22 @5.22.2 > > If you are promted to install perl5.16 and perl5.22 then something is > seriously outdated on your system.
Perl 5.22 is last July. Is that considered "seriously outdated" in Perl land? > > Can port be told to be less strict with large packages like perl, ruby and, > > the horror of all, the several pythons? What exactly do you mean by "less strict"? "I need a perl - any Perl; /usr/bin/perl will do"? No. > no, you cannot avoid installing perl5.26 even if you > do have all of perl5.8, perl5.10, perl5.12, perl5.14, perl5.16, > perl5.18, perl5.20, perl5.22 installed. No, you cannot avoid installing perl 5.26 if the port you are installing says it depends on perl 5.26. Could it say to just depend on perl, as in "any perl I already have will do, please don't make me install yet another version for no good reason"? No it could not: it must always require a specific version, even if it's totaly irrelevant. For example: ./x11/terminus-font/Portfile:depends_build port:python36 \ You need to install python36 to have these fonts; python35 simply won't do, let alone /usr/bin/python. Those are too old for that. Jan