Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1998 16:19:57 +1030 From: Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.com> To: cjclark@home.com, FreeBSD Questions <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: Appropriate Forum for Bug/Upgrade Message-ID: <19981130161957.Y431@freebie.lemis.com> In-Reply-To: <199811300544.AAA01061@cc942873-a.ewndsr1.nj.home.com>; from Crist J. Clark on Mon, Nov 30, 1998 at 12:44:56AM -0500 References: <199811300544.AAA01061@cc942873-a.ewndsr1.nj.home.com>
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On Monday, 30 November 1998 at 0:44:56 -0500, Crist J. Clark wrote: > What would be the best place to point out a potential upgrade idea for > the ports mechanism? That would be FreeBSD-ports. But read on. > The problem is a borderline between a bug and a > absent feature. I think all I'm asking is for the re-wording of an > error message. > > The "Problem:" I was just trying to download StarOffice to check it > out when I got the following: > >> make >>> StarOffice31-common.tar.gz doesn't seem to exist on this system. >>> Attempting to fetch from ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/staroffice/. > fetch: StarOffice31-common.tar.gz: Permission denied >>> Attempting to fetch from ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/distfiles//. > fetch: StarOffice31-common.tar.gz: Permission denied >>> Couldn't fetch it - please try to retrieve this >>> port manually into /usr/ports/distfiles/ and try again. > *** Error code 1 > > Stop. > *** Error code 1 > > Stop. > *** Error code 1 > > Stop. > > Now, my first instinct was that the 'Permission denied' messages were > coming from the ftp sites. However, after looking at the sites, I > realized it wasn't the problem. When I did try to download them > manually, I figured out the problem: I hadn't su'ed to root. (Doh!) I > must admit that this was not the first time I made this mistake either. > > I think that problem could be more clearly indicated to the user. The > 'Permission denied' could mention that the permission problem was > writing on the /users/ machine, not the ftp site. Also, what's the > point of trying to download it twice? If it didn't work the first > time, it ain't gonna work the second. I suppose there's some value in this. It's not a ports issue, though, it's a misfeature in fetch. ftp will tell you, for example, that you don't have create permission in the local directory. Try sending in a PR. Greg -- See complete headers for address, home page and phone numbers finger grog@lemis.com for PGP public key To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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