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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!bunyip.cc.uq.oz.au!munnari.OZ.AU!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!gatech!newsfeed.internetmci.com!info.ucla.edu!library.ucla.edu!news.ucdavis.edu!nob.ucdavis.edu!not-for-mail From: obrien@nob.ucdavis.edu (David E. O'Brien) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: What is meant by `port' (Was Re: Modem program for FreeBSD Date: 5 Feb 1996 09:02:17 GMT Organization: University of California, Davis Lines: 57 Message-ID: <4f4h2p$oub@mark.ucdavis.edu> References: <4elddo$ee8@cdc2.cdc.net> <4esrr5$79b@mark.ucdavis.edu> <xcdivhmwfvi.fsf_-_@woodlawn.uchicago.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: nob.cs.ucdavis.edu X-Newsreader: TIN [UNIX 1.3 950824BETA PL0] Soren Dayton (csdayton+usenet@midway.uchicago.edu) wrote: : Our friend, obrien@nob.ucdavis.edu (David E. O'Brien), wrote: : > : > There is a port of the latest Minicom (version 1.74) as : > ftp.cdrom.com:/pub/FreeBSD/incoming/minicom*1.74* : : I am not sure how to take this statement. minicom is not that : exciting a compile. In fact, you can do a make install. (i got it off : of sunsite!) : : What do people mean by port when they use it? This seems to be some : strange FreeBSD thing that I do not understand... That is a good question. A port is a collection of files (a Makefile, description, filelist, patches, etc), that work with the pkg_* suite of programs. The set of port files, also allows some one to simply type ``make'' and have the official distribution ftp'ed to their box, have the need patches for FreeBSD applied, the software compiled and then installed. This makes installing third-party software on your FreeBSD box very simple and easy. Especially for people how don't know/like to tweak Makefile's. If you don't have net access on your home box, no problem. Just ftp the official distribution on another box, and copy it how ever to you usually get things to your box (floppy?). To me, the big reason to do them is: (1) things with "ports", there will be a precompiled package available on the next FreeBSD distribution. Thus, you wouldn't have to ftp and compile it. So there must be a "port" of something to get a "package" of it. (2) the port fixes the Makefile for FreeBSD so that install paths to fit the 4.4BSD hier(7) scheme. If you ftp'ed and compiled Minicom from sunsite, you got things placed in /usr/bin, /etc, and /usr/man. And in earlier versions of Minicom kermit and rz/sz were looked for there too. Ports/packages should go into /usr/local unless you override that. Also, often the compile flags are wrong for FreeBSD (especially if the software was developed on Solaris, Linux, or HP-UX). Minicom's Makefile's default compile options are for Linux. (3) bugs that keep the software from compiling or running properly on FreeBSD are fixed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the case of the Minicom v1.74 port, the Makefile needs hacking (but you probably did that automatically). Also, the author assumed PID's were 5 digits are less -- a bug, should be 10 digits. And, the path for kermit is wrong in rwconf.c. In the earlier ports of Minicom (v1.71), there were numerous bugs, some that would cause it to drop core on FreeBSD. Version 1.71 was quite Linux centric (guess what the author uses?). I sent my patches back to him and he applied them to the distribution to fix the core dropping and security problem. I'm thankful he took my patches, as the ports of later versions seem trivial now. :-)) -- David (obrien@cs.ucdavis.edu)