On Wed 2000-04-26 (17:35), Mads E Eilertsen wrote:
> I've installed daemontools a couple of times now, on FreeBSD and other
> platforms, and never felt any need for a package. What are the
> specific arguments against doing this on FreeBSD?
Like on most other platforms - it makes it harder for some people to
manage their installed software. Some people have grown up always
installing their own stuff, and other have arrived and always used
packages - neither are any more correct.
FreeBSD ports basically contain patches to the original pristeen
distribution file which are necessary to get that software to perform
correctly on FreeBSD - much like you'd have to do manually to port
something. This doesn't apply to well-behaved applications, like qmail,
but those applications are still in ports, just without patches. It
just makes it easier for lots of people to install software if you do it
the same way all the time, and all the hard porting work is done for you
already. With Debian, for example, they have a very powerful package
dependency system, and simple commands to upgrade all installed packages
to the latest version. Lots of people seem to like it.
So, the argument against it is that you might not be able to manage that
application as easily if you did it yourself. But only if that applies
to you.
Neil
--
Neil Blakey-Milner
Hacker In Chief, Sunesi Clinical Systems
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
