How to Build a Custom Port Tree

[Abid Saigol]

I am a newbie to FreeBSD

I'm using an old machine right now with limited disk space, so I don't want to install the entire ports collection.  I want to build a custom port tree, and I'm finding the docs to be a bit silent on this account as I guess nowadays disk space is usually abundant so installing the entire port tree is the preferred route.

Can someone give some basic guidance on:

1)  Do I install a compiler or does the basic FreeBSD install have it installed already?
2)  How do I setup a single application port?
3)  Will I need to trace dependence or will make pull in the required libraries?
4)  Can I use CVsup to keep a limited number of ports up to date?

Any and all guidance in this regard will be highly appreciated.

Abid