From owner-freebsd-questions Mon Oct 11 7: 3: 4 1999 Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from europe.std.com (europe-e.std.com [192.74.137.10]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2607B14EC0 for ; Mon, 11 Oct 1999 07:02:53 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from kwc@world.std.com) Received: from world.std.com (root@world-f.std.com [199.172.62.5]) by europe.std.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id KAA14389 for ; Mon, 11 Oct 1999 10:02:50 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from kwc@localhost) by world.std.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) id KAA11066; Mon, 11 Oct 1999 10:00:21 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 10:00:21 -0400 (EDT) From: Kenneth W Cochran Message-Id: <199910111400.KAA11066@world.std.com> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: 3.3-RELEASE ports vs packages, cvsup, some specifics Sender: owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk X-Loop: FreeBSD.ORG (Asking in -questions, maybe candidate for -ports or -cvs or something?) Hi, I'm running 3.3-RELEASE, freshly installed from the WC CDs & plan to go to -stable soon. I say "freshly" because I was running 3.2-RELEASE, "cvsupped" to -stable (RELENG_3, the "stable-supfile"), which was 3.3-stable before "replacment" from CD. I have some questions on ports & packages that so far I can't yet find adequately explained in the Lehey book, 3rd Ed. or whatever online docs I've been able to find... Naturally, pointers to documentation/FAQs are appreciated... :) 1. What is/are the difference(s) between "ports" & "packages?" Sample answer: Ports are made from source, packages are precompiled binaries. 1a. What are the "sources" for the packages? Sample answer: Packages are precompiled (ie. time saving) versions of the respective ports, with a few exceptions such as Netscape. 2. Where do the ports/packages "live" on the CDs? Sample answer: The ports "index" is on CD 1 in the /ports directory; the ports themselves (aka "tarballs") are on CD 4, in the /ports/distfiles directory (anywhere else?). Packages are on CDs 1, 2 & 3, in the /packages directories. Some ports (ie. Kermit, ssh?) are not on the CDs (possibly because of licensing and/or export restrictions), but the makefile still points to the appropriate distribution ftp site. Some packages are not available as source code on the CDs (ie. Netscape), for the same reasons. (It would be nice if this info were somehow noted, perhaps in the README and/or pkg/DESCR?) 3. Since the packages (ports, too?) are spread out over 3 CDs, how do I know which CD to use for installation of a particular package (for example, with /stand/sysinstall)? Suggestion: Somehow(?) enable some kind of prompt for the proper CD? 4. How do dependencies get handled for packages? One thing I have had happen is when I tried to install the "metamail" package (/stand/sysinstall --> Index --> Packages --> All --> metamail), I received "error 1" (I think...). I tried it from the port & it complained about a dependency (xloadimage, IIRC...) I found xloadmimage as a package & installed that & metamail installed fine. Was this a glitch or a feature? :) Another example is Netscape, which needs compat22... Hmmm... It appears that in some cases, a port makefile cannot find all its dependencies... 5. What gets maintained/updated when cvsupping the ports tree? Sample answer?: Everything in /usr/ports except the distfiles. ?? Which means, the indexes & makefiles are updated, which may or may not result in distfiles being or not being on the CD (meaning an ftp, etc...) 5a. If the CD becomes "no longer valid" for a particular port, is that what is indicated by the "cannot find..." message in the make? (Hmmm... How do I know which CD to have mounted? ...) Comment: Looks like there should be some easier way to tell, although I look around on the CDs before I try the make... 6. Compat* libraries (apparently a special case?) CD 1 contains compat 1x, 20, 21 & 22. I installed compat22, in support of Netscape (btw, can or should this be listed/handled somehow as a dependency?) 6a. I notice that the compat* libraries (which are in /usr/src/*) exist only as binaries (gzipped & UUencoded) and are maintained by cvsup (stable-supfile) as such. What happened to source? Sample answer?: Make [build]world can't build anything pre-3.x? (Even though they conceivably come from the source tree(s) as 3.x?) So, the pre-3.x libraries are compiled on older systems as a convenience? 7. Another specific case: GIMP There are 2 versions of GIMP, one "standard" & one with the "I18N" patch/add-on. What is the purpose of that patch? There's nothing in the README or pkg/DESCR... Many thanks, -kc To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message