Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:32:32 -0800 From: Kurt Bigler <kkb@breathhost.net> To: <freebsd-doc@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: website suggestions re ports and packages Message-ID: <BA8023D0.714E%kkb@breathhost.net> In-Reply-To: <FF74D248-481B-11D7-B2B0-000393460DB2@FreeBSD.org>
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on 2/24/03 9:18 AM, Jim Mock <jim@FreeBSD.org> wrote: > On Saturday, February 22, 2003, at 04:13 PM, Kurt Bigler wrote: > > [snip...] > >> If anyone knows where that page is that compares and contrasts ports >> and packages, I would appreciate a direct reply with the url, since I >> am not a member of this mailing list. > > http://www.FreeBSD.org/ports/index.html has a search utility where you > can search for ports and packages, as well as a bunch of links to other > related items, and a list of all the ports/packages. Thanks. I eventually found that page again. For the website maintainers, I have some updated observations from my browsing experience. When I first went browsing, I immediately saw the "Run a huge number of applications" title. The text there contained an applications link, which took me to: http://www.FreeBSD.org/applications.html Fairly prominent on that pages is a paragraph with two embedded links packages collection and ports collection I clicked on packages collection which is what I was most interested in. This took me to http://www.FreeBSD.org/where.html, a page with two sections entitled The Packages collection and The Ports collection and the information there makes it sound as if the two collections are mutually exclusive. But the information there was also incomplete based on my memory of having once read a more verbose description comparing and contrasing packages and ports, which led me to writing my previous email. I certainly never expected to find more information about BOTH packages and ports by going back to the home page and clicking on the Ported Applications link, although I eventually did this by mistake, and it turns out that that page http://www.FreeBSD.org/ports/index.html contains more information about both ports and packages, and also described that packages are kind of special case of ports. And this was the page I had been looking for, well-hidden right out in the open given that I was more interested in packages and so keep steering away from "ports". Curiously there is no link to this very helpful page under "The Ports collection" heading on the where.html page. I think you can see how an attempt to find information can be thwarted by the current structure. Basically instead of having little tutorial-like sections scattered around in a fairly unstructured and semi-redundant way, it would be good if the actual structure of the information were made more explicit. For example instead of having two pages that introduce both packages and ports with related kinds of description but containing different information (and in fact conflicting points of view), it would be better to have one single place that introduces both packages and ports. This page should ideally be hard to avoid in any browsing for information on either topic. Please let me know if further clarification would be helpful. (Again, please email directly since I am not currently a list member.) Thanks, Kurt Bigler To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-doc" in the body of the message
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