ports missing their packages.

[mdh]

--- On Wed, 10/29/08, FBSD1 <fbsd1 at a1poweruser.com> wrote:
> From: FBSD1 <fbsd1 at a1poweruser.com>
> Subject: ports missing their packages.
> To: "freebsd-questions at FreeBSD. ORG" <freebsd-questions at FreeBSD.ORG>
> Cc: ports at FreeBSD.org
> Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2008, 4:09 AM
> It's my understanding that a port maintainer has to
> install the port for
> real any time a change is made to the port make files or a
> update to the
> source of the software to test and verify the changes work
> as wanted.
> Creating the package after this is just one command and a
> ftp upload to the
> package server. Why are maintainers being given approval to
> apply their
> changes without creating the required package? This is just
> lax management
> on the part of the people who do the authorizing of the
> changes. Missing
> packages increases user frustration level and makes FreeBSD
> look like its
> being mis-managed.

Very few port maintainers have access to simply upload a package to the ftp servers.  This just isn't how the system works.  During the process of checking to ensure that a port was built or updated sanely, we do create a package, just to ensure that that make target works as expected.  Port maintainers are not the ones responsible for the entire system, only for maintaining a few files which folks get in the ports tree.  

> 
> An alternate solution to this problem is to allow users to
> upload missing
> packages to the package server direct or to a staging ftp
> server so port/pkg
> management staff can review first and them populate the
> production package
> server.

Yeah, that's sane.  Nobody will ever just upload something that demands to be run as root, then changes the root password, enables telnet, and hops on IRC to notify the person who uploaded it, or something.  

The system does work.  It just doesn't provide instant gratification.  If you really need things to happen in real-time, email the FreeBSD Foundation and find out how much cash it'd take for additional hardware to make that a reality, then send them that much cash.  

- mdh