From owner-freebsd-ports@FreeBSD.ORG Fri Jan 11 15:43:54 2008 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-ports@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id DA66716A41B for ; Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:43:54 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from aryeh.friedman@gmail.com) Received: from mta3.srv.hcvlny.cv.net (mta3.srv.hcvlny.cv.net [167.206.4.198]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id A5A7D13C468 for ; Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:43:54 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from aryeh.friedman@gmail.com) Received: from flosoft.no-ip.biz (ool-435559b8.dyn.optonline.net [67.85.89.184]) by mta3.srv.hcvlny.cv.net (Sun Java System Messaging Server 6.2-8.04 (built Feb 28 2007)) with ESMTP id <0JUH00KVJL0YE4V0@mta3.srv.hcvlny.cv.net> for freebsd-ports@freebsd.org; Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:43:47 -0500 (EST) Received: from flosoft.no-ip.biz (localhost [IPv6:::1]) by flosoft.no-ip.biz (8.14.2/8.14.2) with ESMTP id m0BFhkVJ000766; Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:43:46 -0500 Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:43:46 -0500 From: "Aryeh M. Friedman" In-reply-to: To: Paul Schmehl Message-id: <47878EB2.8040100@gmail.com> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT X-Enigmail-Version: 0.95.5 References: User-Agent: Thunderbird 2.0.0.9 (X11/20080104) Cc: FreeBSD Ports Subject: Re: Suggested improvements for ports X-BeenThere: freebsd-ports@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: Porting software to FreeBSD List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:43:55 -0000 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Paul Schmehl wrote: > Some of this has been discussed ad infinitum, but, in an off-list > conversation, I came up with this list of suggested improvements > for port. I'd like to see these things done, but I'm not sure how. > Improve the docs? Create a checklist? A fairly complete redrafting of the current docs (combine the stuff in the handbook and the stuff in the porters guide into a "ports guide") is one of the side projects of ports 2.0. > > 1) You can't build a dependent port and first set the config for > the options that you want. So, when you select sasl in postfix, > you never get the chance to check the saslauthd option, for > example. 2) There's no standard for some of the details of port > building. So, it's entirely up to the port maintainer and the > committer to decide how to build the port. The postfix port > maintainer *could* include a dependency for saslauthd. He chose not > to. He *could* include a note in pkg-message that warns you that > saslauthd needs to be installed as well. He chose not to. His > choices are both reasonable and customary, but they don't serve the > customer well. 3) There's no standard for the format of pkg-plist, > pkg-message or pkg-descr, so port maintainers are free to put > whatever they want in there. There's a customary way of doing it, > but it's not set in stone and variations are found throughout > ports. 4) There's no standard for config files. Do you overwrite? > Do you ignore? Do you create port.conf-sample? port.conf-dist? > port.conf-example? Do you check to see if port.conf is there, and, > if not, copy it to ${LOCALBASE}/etc? ${PREFIX}/etc? 5) There's no > standard for pkg-plist. When is it required? When is it not? > (IOW, what's the maximum number of files you can put in Makefile so > you don't have to create a pkg-plist? Do you use unexec always? > Or only when you want/decide to? Do you just ignore the conf file > and not uninstall it? All of the above have been adddressed and/or on the agenda for ports 2.0. If you want details contact me, David Southwell or alepulver@FreeBSD.org since the topic has been more then hashed out publically and til some results are ready it is not a good idea to do so again. > > I don't know the right answer to these questions, but I think they > need to be answered. I'm willing to volunteer to do some work if > someone will tell me what that work is. Docs? A committee? Already established in forms of the ports 2.0 team if you want to join we are always looking for new people. - -- Aryeh M. Friedman FloSoft Systems, Java Developer Tools. http://www.flosoft-systems.com Developer, not business, friendly. "Free software != Free beer" Blog: http://www.flosoft-systems.com/flosoft_systems_community/blogs/aryeh/index.php -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.4 (FreeBSD) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFHh46yjRvRjGmHRgQRApY/AKCJ6imZ2R0C+Fr1iwuGkPVMheouSwCfZpV7 NU46QLG7bgOkUjLLEhA0KR8= =CAcR -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----