[MacPorts] #45551: iTerm2 builds fine on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Portfile prevents

[MacPorts]

#45551: iTerm2 builds fine on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Portfile prevents
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  Reporter:  chilli.namesake@…  |      Owner:  emer@…
      Type:  enhancement        |     Status:  new
  Priority:  Low                |  Milestone:
 Component:  ports              |    Version:
Resolution:                     |   Keywords:
      Port:  iTerm2             |
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Comment (by larryv@…):

 Replying to [comment:3 chilli.namesake@…]:
 > Now I remember, thanks... that was the reason given. idk what
 > CTFontDrawGlyphs function is or does, but I haven't noticed anything
 > strange. Literally, all I did was edit the iTerm2 Portfile to change
 > "10.7" requirement to "10.6," and the source build completes, and the
 > binary seems to run fine. I'm using the 64-bit kernel, regular Apple
 > 10.6 system software on regular Apple Intel hardware.

 It’s possible their build detects Leopard / Snow Leopard now and adjusts
 accordingly. Otherwise, I’d hope that the build would fail fast.

 > I imagine, if running 10.6, and you altered the system to report it
 > was 10.7, then this would also allow the downloadable binary to run.
 > That might work on 10.5, too... but its a sketchy thing to do to alter
 > what the system reports is the version, but its not as though it hurts
 > anything.

 This is a very bad idea. If the binary is built on 10.7, then it might use
 APIs that were introduced in 10.7 and exhibit runtime errors on 10.6.
 These errors could be very obvious or very subtle.

 > I'm not sure of the nitty gritty differences in xcode/macports between
 > 10.5/6/7/8...

 The differences are myriad and not at all “nitty gritty”. Apple’s
 development environment and operating system have changed drastically
 since Lion.

 > If something doesn't work, why the extra effort to prevent it? Why not
 > just let it fail when it fails, and not preempt the failure with
 > a synthetic failure "this is going to fail, so we stopped you!" ?

 Because providing support to users takes a very real toll on developers’
 time and attention. Many, many, many users will try to do unsupported
 things without realizing they are unsupported. Then they file bug reports
 or provide other feedback, which the developers immediately decline
 because they have no intention of fixing those particular issues. This is
 a waste of time for everyone involved.

 Many people (myself included) see things differently from you. From my
 point of view, if you know that something is not going to work, just tell
 me up front so I don’t waste my time on it.

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Ticket URL: <https://trac.macports.org/ticket/45551#comment:4>
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