It's taken a while but I'm pleased to announce a new ports framework written entirely in Tcl!
It functions identically to the existing system but is in some ways improved. Most important has been the move from perl to Tcl. This should help 'open up' the ports system as Tcl provides a lower bar to entry for those interested in working on the ports system. The code is smaller, better documented, runs faster and has an overall smoother feel. * Completely i18n, the current languages are English, Spanish, German and Italian. * Tight integration with Sqlite and Fossil. * Very modern looking Tk frontend. * Simple textfile-based configuration. * Built from ports already existing in the ports tree. * Understands and can install some non-compiled (docs, script, etc.) packages from FreeBSD, NetBSD and Debian. Other systems (Mandriva, CentOS) support is in the works. * Converting function can convert a FreeBSD port to an OpenBSD port. Conversions from other systems are in the works. * Easy reinsert function allows sliding out a port from under its dependencies and replacing it, avoiding a mass reinstall. * Cataloger function allows easy browsing of all docs/images/movies/etc. in the ports tree. * CFLAGS et al cross reference. * Insta-port function creates port skeleton from url or directory contents. This doesn't work as well as I'd hoped so I'll probably remove it. * Snapshot function allows freezing a set of ports in time while permitting the updates of all others. Also allows simple and full duplication of machine setup wrt ports. * Facebook and Twitter interfaces allow dpb monitoring via social media. * Experimental gpio interface for providing more immediate visual/audio feedback from the ports system. * Set of example advanced port templates are provided, covering a few styles of autoconf and cmake setups. Should make it easier to start a new port. * Fully mandoc documented. * Test suite (214 tests so far). * Open source license. Available on bitbucket (pronounced 'bouquet') rsn. Stu
