On Sun, Feb 17, 2008 at 06:40:49PM +0000, Jacob Meuser wrote: > why? if you are manually running ./configure, is it that much more > to add --prefix=/opt or whatever? if the argument is to keep manually > installed programs separate, isn't that the responsibility of the > person doing the manual installation?
Yes, I agree: but notice, please, the difference in approach: - you have to take care to keep your system clean - you've got a tidy system "by default"; and you have to make efforts, if you really want to make a mess No, I'm not going to say, that OpenBSD is "untidy". All I said is: it's better (at least more comfortable), when system keeps itself tidy with no additional action from user's side. If - for example (just example!) - one doesn't even has to remember, that at the "./configure" stage there wasn't any need to switch to another directory-tree. > and if some software has no > --prefix type option, then isn't that really the fault of the > software in question, as opposed to ports? Yes, but sometimes (rare case, I agree) you've got to install something, which has /usr/local "hardcoded". And then it's no longer a switch - you've got to edit Makefile "manually". And yes - I can edit such file and change path, but... perhaps better use of that needed editing time could be to have a cup of tea instead, for example. ;) > also, if you can compile a source package, building a basic port > should be doable. and from there, documenting dependency info is > probably useful anyway, right? Yes, reading now the "porting" docs... -- pozdrawiam / regards Zbigniew Baniewski