font ports?

[René J.V. Bertin]

On Sunday November 29 2015 23:01:45 Ryan Schmidt wrote:

Hi,

>/Library/Fonts is a location which users expect to be in control of. They expect to be able to install and uninstall files here, and not to have files there owned by MacPorts or other software. What would happen if the user had already installed the font there, and then MacPorts tried to install it there?

That argument also applies the other user installing fonts is not MacPorts but, well, another user...

>Maybe install the fonts in ${prefix}/Library/Fonts, or another directory inside the prefix where other ports already install fonts, and try to convince whatever port you're working on that requires that specific font to use it from that location.

Is that even possible? I'm not aware it is (except under X11 where one can indeed modify the font server's path). And even if it were, it'd require hacking foreign code which is probably already hacked together to some extent if it's cross-platform.

You have a point of course (several in fact), but somewhere I have the impression that a user who 1) knows s/he is in control of /Library/Fonts and how to exercise that control and 2) savvy (or adventurous) enough to manhandle `port` from a terminal session would not have a lot of problems with the kind of situations you cite that might arise.

I'll have a look if there's a way to control (un)installation via FontBook or whatever other mechanism OS X might provide.

As to the possible activation errors: wouldn't it be a wise idea to disallow force-activating of items installed outside of the ${prefix}, as a general principle?

R.