From owner-freebsd-ports@FreeBSD.ORG Wed Mar 26 07:43:44 2008 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ports@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id B19371065671 for ; Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:43:44 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from andrew@areilly.bpa.nu) Received: from qsrv01ps.mx.bigpond.com (qsrv01ps.mx.bigpond.com [144.140.82.181]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 425E28FC1B for ; Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:43:43 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from andrew@areilly.bpa.nu) Received: from oaamta07ps.mx.bigpond.com ([124.188.162.219]) by omta01ps.mx.bigpond.com with ESMTP id <20080326053331.BIPH864.omta01ps.mx.bigpond.com@oaamta07ps.mx.bigpond.com> for ; Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:33:31 +0000 Received: from areilly.bpa.nu ([124.188.162.219]) by oaamta07ps.mx.bigpond.com with ESMTP id <20080326053330.QZTV21882.oaamta07ps.mx.bigpond.com@areilly.bpa.nu> for ; Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:33:30 +0000 Received: (qmail 70773 invoked by uid 501); 26 Mar 2008 05:33:28 -0000 Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:33:28 +1100 From: Andrew Reilly To: ports@freebsd.org Message-ID: <20080326053328.GA29448@duncan.reilly.home> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline User-Agent: Mutt/1.4.2.3i X-RPD-ScanID: Class unknown; VirusThreatLevel unknown, RefID str=0001.0A090202.47E9E02A.01A4,ss=1,fgs=0 Cc: Subject: There is no way to know what port options mean (in general) 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: Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:43:44 -0000 Hi all, I had posted this as a send-pr, and Edwin (reasonably) suggested that the denizens of this list might prefer to discuss it here, than in GNATS. Fair enough. The issue: "make config" in many port directories produces an interactive dialog where one may select various make environment variables to be set. There is a one line description of each flag, to help one make this selection. Unfortunately, in many situations, this description is unhelpful, as flag FOO will have description "foo support", or possiblly "libfoo support". Unless one is fairly well familiar with both the package and the libraries, one can not readily know what the implications of setting these controls one way or the other is. To complicate things, some options are mutually exclusive, and one only discovers this when the build or install subsequently fails. How-To-Repeat: make config something like print/ghostscript-gpl, and wonder what a FreeType bridge might be ("bridge", as opposed to just using the FreeType library to render TrueType fonts?) Notice that SVGALIB -- svgalib support doesn't mention that svgalib is i386-only: you have to wait for the build to fail to discover that. Suggestion: In lieu of interactive F1 or ? keys popping up descriptive windows (which could be nice), it would be keen if ports could grow a new target with a name like "desc-config" that would print out a paragraph (supplied by the port creator/maintainer) that had at least a(n) (explicit) reference to the port that the config knob pulled in as a dependency. Better would be a short paragraph about why one might want to do that, and perhaps what alternatives might exist. Thoughts: ? Cheers, -- Andrew