I'd like to do my bit to support FreeBSD

[Jim Stapleton]

Thanks, that doesn't look like a challange at all. Guess I'll have
some fun with it when I get home.

-Jim Stapleton

On 2/6/07, Bill Moran <wmoran at collaborativefusion.com> wrote:
> In response to "Jim Stapleton" <stapleton.41 at gmail.com>:
> > I've found quite a few tricks and techniques for handling FreeBSD's
> > ports system when things go south. I'd like to add them to the
> > handbook, adding, lets say "4.5.6 - When Ports Attack".
> >
> > OK, really it'd be more along the lines of "4.5.6 - Installing Ports
> > When Things Go Wrong"
> >
> > It would give hints that I've aquired over time from the mailing list,
> > or my own use:
> > 1) config-recursive (my most recent gem aquired from you nice people!)
> > 2) Keeping flag-sets in your make.conf (basically several sets of
> > CFLAGS/CXXFLAGS, so if something fails, you can quickly try something
> > else)
> > 3) How to remove a broken dependancy (read: how to figure the next
> > port up, the list, and then configure that port to remove the
> > dependancy)
> > 4) Rolling back your ports tree to an earlier date or dates, but
> > globally or one port at a time
> > 5) determining which step will fix your problem.
> >
> >
> > Now, as far as I know this would requre:
> > 1) Downloading the doc group of the ports tree to it's own special
> > directory, keeping the CVS flags in tact - I should be able to do this
> > 2) Editing the file of interest - trivial beyond belief
> > 3) ??Generating the file??
>
> Start here:
> http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/fdp-primer/index.html
>
> As you read through that, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised how
> well organized and automated everything is.  I know I was.
>
> > 4) ??Submitting the diffs??
>
> Also covered in the above link.
>
> Once you've generated your docs (step #3) you can post your modified
> copy to your personal website and direct people to it to get feedback
> and suggestions.  There's also a dedicated mailing list for the
> documentation project:
> http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-doc
> which was very helpful when I was doing my first submits.
>
> Thanks for stepping up to help out!
>
> --
> Bill Moran
> Collaborative Fusion Inc.
>