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From: Lowell Gilbert <freebsd-questions-local@be-well.ilk.org>
Date: 19 Oct 2003 10:09:59 -0400
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Subject: Re: Why build INDEX ?
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Adam McLaurin <adam.mclaurin@gmx.net> writes:

> On 18 Oct 2003 13:35:30 -0400
> Lowell Gilbert <freebsd-questions-local@be-well.ilk.org> wrote:
> 
> > 'pkg_version -v' and 'make search' are very useful, and depend on an
> > up-to-date INDEX file.
> 
> 'pkg_version -v' does NOT depend on an up-to-date INDEX. 
> 
> 
> > This is completely incorrect.  Building INDEX.db is for portversion.
> > INDEX has to be updated for pkg_version to see the updated versions of
> > the ports skeletons (in other words, if you don't rebuild it,
> > 'pkg_version -v won't know that your ports have been updated).
> 
> Again, 'pkg_version -v' works just fine without an updated INDEX. I've done it
> hundreds of times; it always works.

Sure it works, for some definition of "works" that doesn't involve
using up-to-date information.  It will tell you if your ports are
outdated, but it will compare them to the versions that were present
when the INDEX file was built, not the ones that are currently
installed.  So if you cvsup your ports and want to know if you just
downloaded any new versions of installed ports, you have to have an
updated INDEX file.  

That doesn't mean you have to rebuild your own INDEX file, because you
can (and will, unless you specifically refuse it) download it along
with the rest of the ports collection.  Of course, those are only
built every few weeks, so they generally won't be completely
up-to-date either.