[MacPorts] #26012: Any reason why not to supply binary packages instead of source?

[MacPorts]

#26012: Any reason why not to supply binary packages instead of source?
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 Reporter:  paulbeard@…          |       Owner:  macports-tickets@…                   
     Type:  enhancement          |      Status:  new                                  
 Priority:  Normal               |   Milestone:                                       
Component:  base                 |     Version:  1.9.1                                
 Keywords:                       |        Port:                                       
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 Given that OS X's release cycle is longer than a year, usually 18 months
 or so, major upgrades (kernel/library) are not much more frequent, and the
 hardware is standardized to a degree Windows/Linux/*BSD developers could
 only dream of, is there any reason not to make binary packages available
 as the Linux/*BSD projects do?

 Could one not simply {{{port destroot}}} a port and allow the output of
 that to be downloaded and installed? Some of us are on physically limited
 hardware and build cycles can take days on some ports. For those who want
 to, make source available, maybe even distribute it with the package, but
 most of us would find it helpful to simply install a package instead of
 building it.

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Ticket URL: <http://trac.macports.org/ticket/26012>
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