deploying pre-build ports with macports

[Boyd Waters]

On Jul 5, 2007, at 12:04 PM, Barry Wark wrote:

> I'm planning a deployment of scientific software to several users in
> my lab. The software depends on several libraries that aren't
> installed by default on OS X. We've settled on macports for providing
> those dependencies (and have been very impressed with the whole
> project- kudos!). I would like to deploy our whole package

I had the same sort of project for our astronomy software.


My first thing was to create a meta-package that installed binary  
versions of all of our MacPorts dependencies.
Then I ran another package that installed our (non-MacPorts) things.


Note that the binary packages that MacPorts creates have little to do  
with MacPorts itself: in particular, they do not create MacPorts  
"receipts". If you expect to be able to install binary packages on top  
of a "standard" MacPorts distribution, and then subsequently build  
MacPorts that depend upon the binary-installed things, then you'll be  
in for a surprise: MacPorts will go ahead and install everything from  
source, ignoring the binary packages.

That is, the binaries and the source ports are two different things  
and don't talk to one another.

For us, this lead to lots of confusion for everyone: scientists, IT  
staff, developers.

So now, I just build everything I need to - MacPorts for the community- 
developed things! - and then I create a tarball installer that  
includes all of our stuff (which isn't in MacPorts yet), and the  
handful of dynamic libs and binary commands that are required by our  
system (mostly Python).


I don't know if my response helps you, but if you have other  
questions, I'd be happy to discuss them with you -- I'd like to know  
how other scientific applications are being deployed when using  
MacPorts.

Regards,

  - boyd

Boyd Waters
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Socorro, New Mexico