cvs commit: ports/emulators/linux_base-fc4 Makefile

[Alexander Leidinger]

Quoting David O'Brien <obrien at FreeBSD.org> (from Thu, 20 Dec 2007  
08:34:02 -0800):

> On Thu, Dec 20, 2007 at 09:23:55AM +0100, Alexander Leidinger wrote:
>>>   Also set LATEST_LINK so 'pkg_add -r linux_base' works.
>>
>> I'm indifferent between "good idea" and "I don't care": Why do you want
>> to do such a pkg_add?  Shouldn't "pkg_add -r <app>" do the right thing
>> (add the right linux_base or tell what the right linux_base is)?
>
> This change does make it so one can add the right linux_base.  Without
> it, one must go churning thru /usr/ports/Mk/bsd.port.mk to figure out
> what specific distro is the right app.

This is only true if you want to add it by hand, instead of letting  
the pkg tools tell you which one to download. What I would like to  
know is, if you are adding it by hand and then using a linux program  
which is not available as a port, or if you install a linux program  
from ports/pkg by installing all the prerequisite by hand.

I'm asking this, because normally it doesn't make sense to install  
linux programs as packages. The ports download binary files anyway,  
and there's no compiling or some other time consuming operation  
happening. The time spent to install a port is more or less the same a  
the time spend installing a pacakge. I know that some systems don't  
have /usr/ports, and I see the benefit of packages there, but I want  
to understand the problem behind this commit. For programs in our  
ports collection, you should get told which is the right linux base to  
install (if missing prerequisites are not installed recursively). The  
remaining case I'm aware of is when you want to use a program which is  
not available from ports, the best thing to do would be to do a  
(local) port of this program.

In most of the cases installing a linux base by hand is the wrong  
thing to do. And as such I want to know the reasons behind this  
commit, maybe we need to add some docs to the linux part of the  
handbook.

Bye,
Alexander.

-- 
%DCL-E-MEMBAD, bad memory
-SYSTEM-F-VMSPDGERS, pudding between the ears

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