[MacPorts] #49086: Bad user experience if user forgets to save a list of requested ports before OS upgrade

[MacPorts]

#49086: Bad user experience if user forgets to save a list of requested ports
before OS upgrade
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  Reporter:  macports@…   |      Owner:  macports-tickets@…
      Type:  enhancement  |     Status:  closed
  Priority:  Normal       |  Milestone:
 Component:  base         |    Version:  2.3.4
Resolution:  invalid      |   Keywords:
      Port:               |
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Comment (by graziosi.angelo@…):

 Ciao Ryan,

 Replying to [comment:1 ryandesign@…]:
 > Step 2 of the migration instructions tells you to reinstall MacPorts
 base, which fixes the problem you mentioned, without affecting your
 installed ports.

 in any case, there is a basic problem: each time there is a new OSX
 release (Lion -> ML -> Mavericks -> Yosemite -> El Capitan), the MacPorts
 users have to "migrate", i.e. basically they have to reinstall MacPorts
 from scratch even if their curent installation basically works. But often,
 "migrating" means NOT install a few ports because they don't work or build
 in the new OSX.

 Consider the current case. qt4-mac package has issues. If I reinstall or
 migrate MacPorts to new OSX, the package which depend on qt4 cannot be
 reinstalled. I have djview which I cannot reinstall instead the package I
 installed with Yosemit works just fine  also in 10.11! The same with
 emacs-mac-app: I installed it with 10.10 and it works also with El
 Capitan.

 At the moment the only package I found and that does not work is pdftk
 (which hangs). But as I stressed, reinstalling MacPorts following the
 migration steps would mean I cannot reinstall more packages.

 After all, there are on the web other important project which do not
 require the migration: see for example TeXLive. The version released on
 June/July still works with 10.11 and TL people do not ask for a
 "migration". Usually if they meet problems with some binary (latex,
 pdflatex, xetex etc.) after they have found the fix, they release that new
 binary..

 There would be other considerations about the fact that Apple constrains
 users every year to this "tour de force" but they are off topic..

 Ciao, Angelo.

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://trac.macports.org/ticket/49086#comment:2>
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