[Kde-nonlinux] Pooched

[Lauri Watts]

On Saturday 16 March 2002 05.24, Mike Warner wrote:
> > Some of my KDE is pooched.
> > I installed from the 4.5 iso.  Most of KDE was not there so I install=
ed
> > what was missing from /stand/sysinstall using my 4.4 iso disk.  It se=
emed
> > to work.
>
> Call me paleolithic, but I just don't like package managers--any packag=
e
> managers (rpm,pkg_add,debian, etc) for installing complex subsystems li=
ke
> KDE. My recommendation is to bite the bullet and get some experience
> installing subsystems from source. Your knowledge and self-esteem will
> thank you.

I hope you don't take this reply as flamebait, it's not intended to be ha=
rsh.

You know, some of us spend huge amounts of time building packages and por=
ts=20
for people to use.  I'm not calling you paleolithic, I just think you don=
't=20
understand how the ports work.  They are a framework that allow you to bu=
ild=20
a locally optimised and locally compiled copy of things for yourself.  Th=
e=20
port makefile simply sets up the environment (which you can customize ver=
y=20
simply), downloads the tarball, and compiles it.  Yes, you can automate t=
his=20
process with the portupgrade tool, but you don't have to.  Or you can ins=
tall=20
the packages, which *are* the ports, precompiled for you on a nice big bu=
ild=20
cluster, so that you don't have to spend the time and cycles doing so.

Advising someone new to Unix, to install all from source, outside the por=
ts=20
tree, on FreeBSD is doing them a disservice and making it needlessly hard=
er. =20

Installing X and KDE outside the ports system will mean you can never use=
 the=20
ports system to use anything else, without having to learn more about you=
r=20
system than most people want to know.  Many users are entirely uninterest=
ed=20
in compiling, satisfying dependencies, and how to install X by themselves=
,=20
they just want to get work done, and want to use KDE to do it.

Using the ports you can happily sit and watch compile to satisfy your=20
self-styled paleolithic tendencies.  Feel free to hack up the makefile to=
 set=20
different configure options, or do it right on the command line when you =
type=20
"make install".  For example, want to compile KDE with the --enable-final=
=20
option set?  Then "make KDE_WANT_FINAL=3D1 install".  You also get the be=
nefit=20
of platform-specific patches, (note, not customizations, the ports use th=
e=20
same tarballs to compile as you would yourself, and don't customize thing=
s,=20
but may *fix* things that are broken on FreeBSD.) =20

I'm really happy for you to continue your learning odyssey compiling thin=
gs=20
for yourself.  I'm less happy to see you advising someone who is=20
self-admittedly new to Unix to do things the hard way, when some of us sp=
end=20
our spare time trying to smooth their path, not making them take the long=
 way=20
around.=20

The main reason you are finding KDE 3.0 so stable on FreeBSD is that the=20
kde@freebsd team have spent the last few months painstakingly finding and=
=20
fixing things that gave us trouble, and doing so right in the KDE sources=
=2E =20
If you want to help, and I really think you do, one of the best things yo=
u=20
can do is get involved on the mailing list, and help us make a really gre=
at=20
set of packages and ports, so that everyone else doesn't have to go fixin=
g=20
the same things over and over again.

--=20
Lauri Watts