Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:05:50 +0000 From: Matthew Seaman <m.seaman@infracaninophile.co.uk> To: Tom Worster <fsb@thefsb.org> Cc: Paul Schmehl <pauls@utdallas.edu>, Steve Bertrand <steve@ibctech.ca>, freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, Mel <fbsd.questions@rachie.is-a-geek.net> Subject: Re: lang/php5 port Message-ID: <49493F7E.7050508@infracaninophile.co.uk> In-Reply-To: <C56E920E.6B91%fsb@thefsb.org> References: <C56E920E.6B91%fsb@thefsb.org>
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Tom Worster wrote:
> i'm certainly not smart enough to know what might be a better way to de=
sign
> ports like php. but one thing seems odd to me. i ended up with dozens o=
f
> ports installed that appeared to use nothing but the same php-5.2.8.tar=
=2Ebz2
> distfile. relative to what i'm used to with php (i.e. manual configure,=
> compile, install) this seems a bit untidy and i'm nervous what it might=
mean
> for maintenance.
Absolutely not. Don't be confused that the various php5-foo ports all us=
e
the same distfile: it's a big lump of code, and the individual modules se=
lectively
compile bits of it. Don't be perturbed that you have a large number of p=
orts
installed -- after all a port is ultimately just a set of files treated t=
ogether
as a block. This just means you're getting finer grained control over wha=
t you've
got installed on your machine.
No -- the current design of the way PHP is dealt with in ports is brillia=
nt.
Consider the alternative -- in fact the way it used to be done. As the
maintainer of the port of a PHP application I need to ensure certain
functionality is compiled into PHP for that application to work. Unless =
the functionality I need happens to be a strict subset of what is provide=
d by
default, I have to create and maintain slave ports of php4 and php5 with =
the appropriate configuration flags. Which is a PITA. Now, ask yourself=
what
happens if I want to install two different PHP applications simultaneousl=
y?
OK, now we need another set of PHP slave ports to support that combinatio=
n.
Before you know it, the ports tree is buried in a combinatorial explosion=
of
different PHP slave ports all with slightly different combinations of opt=
ions.
No one understands quite what they really should be installing in any par=
ticular circumstance. Because the ports are now too difficult to use, st=
andard advice
on mailing lists is 'compile and install by hand.' Oh, the embarrassment=
!
Compare this to the system we have now. PHP application depends on the f=
oo,
bar and baz modules. php5-foo and php5-bar are already installed, so no=
w
we just get php5-baz installed automatically to fulfil the dependencies a=
s a
routine effect of installing the app. Now add yet another app that depen=
ds on
baz and quux. php5-baz is already installed, so just the php5-quux modul=
e is
installed as a dependency. Everyone is happy.
=46rom the port maintainer's point of view, the setup is particularly swe=
et too.
At a minimum to declare that your port uses PHP and needs modules foo, ba=
r and
baz, all you need to do is add a line:
USE_PHP =3D foo bar baz
to the port's Makefile. In a lot of cases, that really is /all/ you hav=
e to
do. Even the more complicated stuff with OPTIONS dialogues or that use
different module sets for php4 vs. php5 are only slightly harder to deal =
with.
Cheers,
Matthew
--=20
Dr Matthew J Seaman MA, D.Phil. 7 Priory Courtyard
Flat 3
PGP: http://www.infracaninophile.co.uk/pgpkey Ramsgate
Kent, CT11 9PW
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