port search

N_Ox n.oxyde at gmail.com
Sat Sep 22 05:48:38 PDT 2007


Le 22 sept. 07 à 12:30, Mij a écrit :

>
> On 21/set/07, at 18:31, N_Ox wrote:
>
>>
>> Le 21 sept. 07 à 12:34, Mij a écrit :
>>
>>>
>>> On 21/set/07, at 08:00, N_Ox wrote:
>>>
>>>> Le 20 sept. 07 à 20:44, Mij a écrit :
>>>>>
>>>>> wouldn't it be better to make "search" actually searching  
>>>>> thoughout descriptions too?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Just use `port search description:fortran`.
>>>
>>> Automatically searching in the name AND description would be more  
>>> handy,
>>> consistent with other package managers and intuitive.
>>>
>>> If one want to search the name alone, it can use "search name:"  
>>> instead.
>>>
>>> JM2C
>>
>> I don't find it consistent with other package managers (at least  
>> not Fink, Portage or pkgsrc)
>
> Some examples doing so:
> APT - the first and sometimes told the best -ever package manager
> yum - redhat's one
> ports
> (I don't know more)
>
> fink also does.
>
> Besides all, it all depends to what you want to be inspired.  
> Portage is what most people
> argue is the reason why the "Gentoo wave" weakened in favour to  
> Ubuntu. Pkgsrc has a
> very restricted userbase so they probably haven't a strong feedback  
> about usability
> topics.
>

Fink does not, fink gives user two different commands to achieve name  
and name + description search.
Concerning Portage, it's my "best -ever package manager", and i would  
like some features of it being ported to MacPorts (who said slots?).

>
>> neither than more intuitive.
>
> you usually prefer to issue one search, get a list of some results  
> that you walk and
> ignore the ones you're not interested in, better than not finding  
> what you wanted to,
> and need to issue another command to find the rest to be sure.
>
> And, as if you're coming from one package manager you're most  
> probably coming
> from one between APT, yum or ports, you could expect that the  
> search is in name AND
> description, and give up when you see that searching for "editor"  
> has no results and
> erroneously conclude that macports portbase is still poor.
>

Search for editor inside description is no good anyway, you would  
rather do `port search category:editors`

> Anyway, try to make a balanced comparison and take your choice.
>
> bye
>

IMHO The only thing we need is better documentation, and this problem  
will soon disappear.

Regards,

--
Anthony Ramine, the infamous MacPorts Trac slave.
nox at macports.org





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