Date: Sun, 18 Jan 1998 22:55:52 -0500 (EST) From: Tim Vanderhoek <ac199@hwcn.org> To: John Fieber <jfieber@indiana.edu> Cc: Warner Losh <imp@village.org>, ports@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Docs for bsd.ports.mk Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.96.980118224204.11695A-100000@james.hwcn.org> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.3.96.980118223014.26398Q-100000@fallout.campusview.indiana.edu>
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On Sun, 18 Jan 1998, John Fieber wrote: > On Sun, 18 Jan 1998, Warner Losh wrote: > > > Is it time to expand the docs for bsd.ports.mk? > > You mean beyond what www.freebsd.org/handbook/porting.html > provides? Which is wonderful if you're writing a port. However, for the generic user of the ports system, there is nothing which serves as a reference document. There is a section of the handbook which explains how the system works, but a tutorial != a reference (would one like having to read a tutorial on grep everytime one wanted a quick reference for the -w option?) A manpage documenting things such as the purpose of ECHO_MSG, NOCLEANDEPENDS, BATCH, etc. would be great! If you grab some of the stuff from the ports.sgml of the handbook (and trim it down respectively), that would be a good start. The http://www.handbook.porting/html probably has little that would be useful (like using a C manual to explain how to use vi). Questions such as "How do I avoid cleaning dependencies?" are becoming more common and wouldn't be necessary with an appropriate and concise manpage. That said, once you've studied bsd.port.mk for a while, the whole ports system takes on a new level of sex appeal, and we wouldn't want to discourage new users from realizing that potential. ;-) -- Outnumbered? Maybe. Outspoken? Never! tIM...HOEk
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