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diff --git a/share/FAQ/Text/ports.FAQ b/share/FAQ/Text/ports.FAQ deleted file mode 100644 index 2a447ad..0000000 --- a/share/FAQ/Text/ports.FAQ +++ /dev/null @@ -1,246 +0,0 @@ - The FreeBSD Ports FAQ file - -Revision: $Id: ports.FAQ,v 1.2 1995/01/06 19:24:13 gpalmer Exp $ - -The ports system is kinda new, so there haven't been too many FAQ's to -date, but hopefully this document will pre-empt (some|most) of them!! -The ports system is constantly changing, but hopefully this document -will be kept reasonably up to date (and you never know, it might even -make sense!). - - - Gary Palmer - & jkh - -1) What is a port? - - Unfortunately, there are more variations of UN*X than most people -know of, and hence not all software for UN*X available on the Internet -will work on all versions of UN*X (in fact, I can guarantee it!). -Hence, some software needs modifications to work under some UN*Xs. The -process of making those modifications is known as ``porting'' and the -result known as a ``port'' (not to be confused with the sockets on the -back of your computer!). - - -2) What is the FreeBSD Ports Collection? - - People who (allegedly) know what they are doing have automated the -process of ``porting'' software to FreeBSD, and the result is the -Ports Collection. The general idea is that a combination of various -programming tools available in the base FreeBSD installation will -allow you to fetch the port from a FreeBSD mirror site, type ``make'' -and get the fully working program. - - The ports collection itself normally doesn't have any of the -original source code necessary for the compilation in the tree, just -those shell scripts, Makefiles and source code ``diffs'' that are -necessary to compile the program under FreeBSD. This is meant to keep -the entire system down to a manageable size, and the current system -has over 100 ports in the master source tree, and yet a compressed tar -file of that tree is about 2 megabytes (all the source code needed is -over 100Mb's!). - - -3) How does the system compile with no source code? - - A ports' Makefile automatically looks in a central location on -your system (usually /usr/ports/distfiles, though this value can be -customized) for the associated set of original distribution files that -have been ``ported''. These are generally provided at various places -on the Internet, though if you have a CDROM distribution of FreeBSD -then you've already got them available on your CD for ease of use. -See section 3.1 if you have such a CD distribution, otherwise skip to -section 3.2. - -3.1 Compiling ports from CD - - Type something profound here. - -3.2 Compiling ports using an Internet connection - - The ports collection can also use an auto-fetch system to keep -your ports collection source tree up to date, updating the central -``distfiles'' version for you the next time you compile the port. - - Of course, this always assumes you have a permanent network link, -or don't mind heavy usage of your telephone. If you don't want heavy -network usage when you compile your ports tree, you can pre-fetch the -necessary tarballs beforehand and put them into /usr/ports/distfiles -(or wherever DISTDIR points) by hand. A good way to see what files a -port is going to need is to cd to that port's directory and do a -``make -n fetch'' to see what it does. - - You can also chose to get the source files either from the master -FTP site as defined in the relevant Makefile (in the MASTER_SITES -line), or some FreeBSD mirror site also carrying a set of distfiles, -as does the master FTP site on ftp.FreeBSD.org (aka ftp.cdrom.com) in -the directory /pub/FreeBSD/ports/distfiles. Note that the files in -that directory are not guarenteed to be kept up to date - this is a -volunteer project! We can't make any guarantees about the mirror -sites either - they are obviously under independant control and don't -even have to mirror the distfiles directory. - - If you have a non-permanant link, you can fetch all the distfiles by -going to the top of the tree and typing ``make fetch''. - - -4) It doesn't work?! - -Oh. You can do one of four (4) things : - -a) Fix it yourself. Technical details can be found in the GUIDELINES file, - available from URL ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/GUIDELINES - -b) Gripe. This is done by e-mail *ONLY*! The people at Walnut Creek are - in no way responsible for the functionality (or lack thereof) of the - FreeBSD system as a whole, and especially the ports system, which - is mainly contributed by 3rd parties. (If you don't believe me, check - the catalogue, especially the line saying "We cannot offer tech-support - on this product") - - The e-mail address is Ports@FreeBSD.org. Please include details of - the port, where you got both the port source & distfile(s) from, and - what the error was. - - Note: At time of writing, lang/Sather doesn't seem to work on Pentium - machines due to the Intel Curse (aka the Floating Point Division Bug). - Please don't tell us about this - gripe to Intel instead - it's their - bug! - -c) Forget it. This is the easiest for most - very few of the programs in - ports can be classed as `essential'! - -d) Grab the pre-compiled package from a ftp server. The ``master'' package - collection is in: - ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/packages/ - - though check your local mirror first, please! - - These are more likely to work (on the whole) than trying to compile from - source, and a lot faster! - - -5) I've ported a program and I want to make a port out of it. What now? - - See the file GUIDELINES, in: - ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/GUIDELINES - - This contains details of the procedure and structure involved. - - -6) I've got a good port, what now? - - Upload the fixed version to freefall.cdrom.com /pub/incoming or -ftp.FreeBSD.org /pub/FreeBSD/incoming and send e-mail to -ports@FreeBSD.org with the filename and details. Someone on the -all-volunteer `ports committee' will (hopefully) look it over and -commit it to the ports collection if they like the looks of it. - - -7) Things go funny during the fetch stage of compilation! - - We know. Please don't blame us. There is a program called `ncftp' -which is used instead of the normal ftp as it can do so-called -``background'' or ``batch'' transfers, ideal for this situation. -Unfortunately it can do strange things, and has crashed at least one -machine (during circumstances stranger than most, I'll admit, but it -was still responsible). Hopefully a future release of ncftp will fix -these problems (it is not maintained by the main FreeBSD team, but a -third party, who is I believe aware of its shortcomings) - - -8) I want to leave the compile going overnight, but some ports don't - like this. - - There is a way around this. Before starting the compilation, type: - setenv BATCH yes # (if you use csh/tcsh) or - BATCH=yes # (for sh/bash) - - This should miss out ports which need user interaction. Unfortunately, -ncftp doesn't know about this trick, and can often screw up and ask -stupid questions in unattended batch mode. See (7). - - To compile those ports left out by doing the above, using a -different login shell (or unsetting the above BATCH variable), set the -INTERACTIVE variable instead (you can use the same statements as above -except replace ``BATCH'' with ``INTERACTIVE'') and re-run make. This -should now compile only those ports which will definitely ask for user -interaction. - - -9) The ports collection is weak. What can I do to help? - - First read the bsd.port.mk file (which may be found in -/usr/share/mk/) and the associated bsd.port.subdir.mk file. A lot of -the weirdness can be explained properly in there (most of the current -weirdness is due to the lack of assumptions about anything, which is -necessary due to the generic nature of these files). Also check that -you have an up-to-date copy, as the file can change from minute to -minute. A reasonably up-to-date copy can be found in: - - ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/FreeBSD-current/src/share/mk/bsd.port* - - If you find that you still need to go in there and alter things, -by all means do so, and then send the diffs to ports@FreeBSD.org if -you'd like them to be a part of the default distribution. Please also -remember that any changes must respect backwards-compatability with -any and all older Makefiles, unless you want a real nightmare of -/usr/ports munging ahead of you! Large scale changes will generally -not be warmly welcomed unless all the existing makefiles work without -alteration. Sorry! - - -10) This FAQ is weak. What can I do? - - Send changes to ports@FreeBSD.org. Changes are most welcome! -This FAQ is also very green and should be considered no more than -a `good start' for now. Authors? You can come out of hiding any -time now! :-) - - -11) How do I get more information on all the ports? - - One good method is to cd to the top of the ports tree (say /usr/ports) -and type something like: - - make describe | sed -e '/===/D' -e 's;/usr/ports/;;' | expand -40 - -The ``make describe'' will try to extract the one-line description from -each port, and the ``sed'' will delete the extraneous output. ``expand'' -just makes it a little more readable (sort of - you may want to season -the output of this more to taste). - - -12) I've heard of a new checksum system. What is this for? - - For various reasons, when using FTP over the Internet to obtain the -source code, you may not always end up with the same copy of the code -that the origional porter worked from, and this can lead to problems. -So a simple checksumming system has been employed to try and highlight -problems in this area. - - To check the entire system, go to the top of the ports tree -(defaults to /usr/ports) and type - - make checksum - -This will give a report on the validity of the files you have FTP'd. If some -are missing, the system will attempt to retrieve them before running the -checksum routine. The same technique can be applied to a single port. - - The system will complain if there is no pre-computed checksum available -for that port. Not all ports currently have checksums, but this should be -cured soon. - - Some older versions of the system don't recognise the ``checksum'' -target. In that case, try the command - - make check-md5 - -(``check-md5'' was the pre-cursor to the ``checksum'' target). If neither -work, get the latest copies of bsd.port.mk and bsd.port.subdir.mk from - - ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/FreeBSD-current/src/share/mk/bsd.port* - -and install them in /usr/share/mk. This will get you the latest version -of the ports system. |
