New port config could make MacPorts' setup much easier

[Rainer Müller]

Anders F Björklund wrote:
> Rainer Müller wrote:
> 
>> I am thinking about a new port config target, which could make setting
>> up MacPorts much easier. Currently, the appropriate variables for PATH,
>> MANPATH and DISPLAY are determined in the postflight script. If we would
>> move that into a port config target (or port setup, the name is open for
>> discussion), the manual setup process would become easier.
> 
> You probably want those to read /opt/local/bin/port then, if the purpose
> of the command would be to make it find port(1) in the first place ? :-)

Of course. I just wrote "port config" for easier reading.

> Q: Does DISPLAY have to be fixed by MacPorts, just because Apple missed 
> it ?
> (I'm already setting stuff like $JAVA_HOME, $DISPLAY and $EDITOR 
> outside...)

No, we do not have to fix it, but it would be nice for newbies. 
Experienced users could of course tweak these settings. I am also 
setting EDITOR myself, but that is a personal preference. DISPLAY has to 
be set for all users to the same value (:0.0), so we could fix it for them.

> Or there could be a simple script that you could source from your profile,
> maybe it could be called something like "init.sh" or "init.csh" ? (hint, 
> hint*)

This sounds like a good solution, too. I am mainly just asking for a 
fallback if postflight failed, as we currently have none.

> Then the profile hacking could be limited to 1 line sourcing this script ?
> If the postflight fails, then it would also be easier to add it manually...

One line would be ok. Currently it requires you to understand what PATH, 
MANPATH and DISPLAY actually do. And you have to decide which one of 
them you have to set.

> It also makes it easier to only "enable" MacPorts when you actually want 
> to.
> Like if you want to be able to run _both_ MacPorts and Fink, and others 
> too.

Hm, I don't think it is a good idea to run MacPorts and Fink together... 
Many configure scripts just check for /opt/local or /sw for libraries 
and you will end up with a mixture of cross linked binaries.

> The guide probably needs to have an optional section describing how to 
> set up
> your shell profile and how to sync ports, in case the automatic 
> procedure fails ?

There is http://guide.macports.org/#installing.shell
But that's not a good explanation currently. At all it was not even 
clear for users I helped that they had to edit a file.

> Theoretically you might want to get your ports tree in some other 
> fashion too,
> like running off the archive or updating through subversion or using a 
> portpkg...
> 
> So breaking the installation down into those three distinctive steps 
> might help
> with the understanding ? (1. install base, 2. setup profile, 3. port 
> selfupdate)

This sounds like a good idea. But I have to admit that I have no 
knowledge about docbook at all. I would be glad helping out making 
better documentation steps, but someone else would have to lead it.

I agree that my proposal could also be just written to a static file, as 
the env vars are not going to change after install. Therefore I step 
back from port config and vote for a shell script and better 
documentation for setup.

Rainer