docs/92699: misleading chapter in handbook

[Matthias Reinhold]

>Number:         92699
>Category:       docs
>Synopsis:       misleading chapter in handbook
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       non-critical
>Priority:       low
>Responsible:    freebsd-doc
>State:          open
>Quarter:        
>Keywords:       
>Date-Required:
>Class:          doc-bug
>Submitter-Id:   current-users
>Arrival-Date:   Wed Feb 01 18:00:19 GMT 2006
>Closed-Date:
>Last-Modified:
>Originator:     Matthias Reinhold
>Release:        freebsd 7-current
>Organization:
>Environment:
% uname -a
FreeBSD lodoss.reinhold.local 7.0-CURRENT FreeBSD 7.0-CURRENT #1: Tue Jan 10 18:06:23 CET 2006     root at lodoss.reinhold.local:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/LODOSS  i386 
>Description:
              Hi
The chapter "4.5.2.1 Overriding the Default Ports Directories" in FreeBSD's handbook is not really wrong but yet pretty inaccurate and misleading. It says

>How-To-Repeat:
              
>Fix:
              
>Release-Note:
>Audit-Trail:
>Unformatted:
 >For example:
 >
 ># make PORTSDIR=/usr/home/example/ports install
 >
 >will compile the port in /usr/home/example/ports and install everything under /usr/local
 
 This sounds like if you are in a portsdir, maybe /usr/ports/shells/bash, this command would build this port in /usr/home/examples/ports and install it to /usr/local afterwards. Of course it does not do so. As i understand it PORTSDIR just tells make whic h installed portstree to use - in case there's more than one - or just where the portstree is located if you want to build a port from somewhere else (e.g. a testrun of a self-created port or sth like that).
 
 To clarify the issue I'd suggest to at least mention WRKDIRPREFIX in this chapter so that the reader doesn't mix the knobs up. But it would be nice if the point about PORTSDIR gets an accurate explanation.
 
 
 Greetings, Matthias
 
 
 PS: The german version of this chapter is even a bad translation. In german it doesn't just _sound like_ PORTSDIR is the directory where the port is build. In german it explicitly says it is! So this translation really has to get fixed.