[MacPorts] #66499: Significantly reduce MacPorts base install space by removing base.tar and compressing ports.tar

[MacPorts]

#66499: Significantly reduce MacPorts base install space by removing base.tar and
compressing ports.tar
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  Reporter:  esbugz       |      Owner:  (none)
      Type:  enhancement  |     Status:  new
  Priority:  Normal       |  Milestone:
 Component:  base         |    Version:  2.8.0
Resolution:               |   Keywords:
      Port:               |
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Comment (by ryandesign):

 The base.tar and ports.tar files are kept on disk, and are downloaded as
 uncompressed files instead of compressed ones, so that rsync can produce a
 small diff of them so that only a small amount of network traffic is
 needed during updates.

 Admittedly, this design decision was made decades ago when base and ports
 were both much smaller.

 I understand where your suggestions are coming from but they represent
 several significant changes to how MacPorts base works. If you would like
 to work on one or more of these changes, I suggest you discuss them in
 detail on the macports-dev mailing list and gain consensus on the method
 of doing so before beginning to write any code. That way you can avoid
 unnecessary work.

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://trac.macports.org/ticket/66499#comment:1>
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