Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:30:48 +0100 From: Matthew Seaman <m.seaman@infracaninophile.co.uk> To: Thomas Mueller <mueller6724@bellsouth.net> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Building and running new package versions not yet in ports? Message-ID: <4C6502B8.8050600@infracaninophile.co.uk> In-Reply-To: <4c64e9c5.QP7fekph3VlfDjdr%mueller6724@bellsouth.net> References: <4c64e9c5.QP7fekph3VlfDjdr%mueller6724@bellsouth.net>
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This is an OpenPGP/MIME signed message (RFC 2440 and 3156) --------------enig2DF07E4B9C75E4BCF135420A Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable On 13/08/2010 07:44, Thomas Mueller wrote: > What do I do if I want to build and run a package where version in > ports collection is not up-to-date, and I want to build and run the > current release version of that package, like Abiword 2.8.6 for > instance, when version in ports is behind? Or maybe I want to try a new= > alpha or beta development release of a package like Firefox or > Seamonkey, but don't want to burn my bridges on the already installed > and running version. Contact the port maintainers in the first instance -- they may well have beta test versions of the ports you can download. Failing that, it is perfectly feasible for you to update a port yourself. Generally, you will want to work on a copy of the port directory somewhere. You can check out what you need from anonymous CVS, which gives you all the extra VCS goodness you could want for serious code hacking. Your working directory doesn't have to be anywhere special in relation to the ports tree. Anywhere you like will be fine. Well, assuming the port you're working on is pretty much stand alone -- if you need to look at a collection of highly interconnected ports then it gets harder, but that's not something particularly common. Refer to the Porter's Handbook for a guide on how it all should work, and read the comments and code in /usr/ports/Mk/*.mk for the nitty-gritty details. Ion-Mihail's guide at http://ionut.tetcu.info/FreeBSD/How-to-submit-a-diff.txt has plenty of good tips too. If you do generate a usable upgrade for a port, please submit it as a PR so the rest of the world can benefit. Beware though: thus begins the slippery path to port maintainership and possibly even a coveted @freebsd.org e-mail address. > Can I create a testing install base such as /extra or /usr/extra, > and set something like > PATH=3D/usr/extra/bin:$PATH and perhaps modify some other environment > variables, and then be able to return to the regular environment? I > would only want to change a few things temporarily and would not want > to create an entire chroot system. Sure. When testing ports, I regularly have the following set in the environment: setenv WRKDIRPREFIX ${HOME}/tmp/ports setenv PKG_DBDIR ${HOME}/tmp/db/pkgs setenv PORT_DBDIR ${HOME}/tmp/db/ports setenv PREFIX ${HOME}/tmp/local setenv INSTALL_AS_USER yes setenv NOCLEANDEPENDS yes setenv PACKAGES ${HOME}/tmp/packages > Is this the proper list for this question, or should I have posted > to freebsd-ports@freebsd.org ? You're more likely to find interested and knowledgeable people on freebsd-ports@ -- certainly post there if you run into difficulties trying to work with ports. Cheers, Matthew --=20 Dr Matthew J Seaman MA, D.Phil. 7 Priory Courtyard Flat 3 PGP: http://www.infracaninophile.co.uk/pgpkey Ramsgate JID: matthew@infracaninophile.co.uk Kent, CT11 9PW --------------enig2DF07E4B9C75E4BCF135420A Content-Type: application/pgp-signature; name="signature.asc" Content-Description: OpenPGP digital signature Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="signature.asc" -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG/MacGPG2 v2.0.14 (Darwin) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iEYEARECAAYFAkxlAr4ACgkQ8Mjk52CukIyJ9gCfbBs5cd6gsPXqYeIZSFg5WndE AY8Anihkkw0QkUtIppV4DZghTy+irSRw =ed4d -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --------------enig2DF07E4B9C75E4BCF135420A--
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