New User Questions

[Ryan Schmidt]

On Mar 5, 2007, at 01:02, Thomas J. Buhr wrote:

> I've been looking to get Apache2 2.2.4 installed with the APR and  
> APR-Util components. Also then I'll need the latest Subversion to  
> integrate with Apache2 along with MySQL and PHP. Are these packages  
> available? How easy are they to install?

Of course. You can discover whether something is available by  
searching for it:

$ port search apache
$ port search subversion

To automatically install subversion and all its dependencies  
(including apr, apr-util, expat, neon, gettext, openssl, zlib,  
libiconv...) with apache2 support, just type:

$ sudo port sync
$ sudo port install subversion +mod_dav_svn

However, I recommend doing a little more:

I recommend configuring Subversion without BerkeleyDB support, unless  
you know for a fact that you really need it. Furthermore I recommend  
also installing a few extra tools that come with Subversion; they may  
come in handy some day. So type this instead:

$ sudo port sync
$ sudo port install apr-util +no_bdb
$ sudo port install subversion +no_bdb +mod_dav_svn +tools

To discover which variants are available for a port, type for example:

$ port info subversion

Unfortunately the variants do not have descriptions, so if the  
variant names are not enough to tell you what they do, you'll have to  
read the code of the portfile:

$ port cat subversion

or:

$ port edit subversion


> Presently I have Fink Commander (its downloads are out of date)  
> does Macports offer a similar install experience?

The MacPorts equivalent of Fink Commander would be Port Authority,  
but it is not free. I tried it back when it was free, and for my  
purposes it was just as easy and clear, if not easier / clearer, to  
just use the terminal and forget the GUI. "man port" will tell you  
what all the port command can do for you.