unregistered files/modules

[David Epstein]

On 8 Oct 2007, at 08:50, Ryan Schmidt wrote:

> On Oct 8, 2007, at 02:37, David Epstein wrote:
>
>> I have just started using Macports and I wonder how to get round  
>> the following annoying problem. Each port that I download  
>> complains about a number of files (between 5 and 35) that are  
>> "unregistered". The install stops at every single error and  
>> aborts. As a result, I have a great deal of manual work, deleting  
>> these unregistered files, having to restart the install each time.  
>> Moreover, using root privileges to delete the unregistered files  
>> creates unpleasant opportunities for typos.
>>
>> I had a glance at the macports-users archive, but couldn't find an  
>> index. I tried Google, but couldn't find any sensible leads on  
>> this. I read "man port", but it's unclear to me exactly what each  
>> option does, and I'm concerned that I'll do the wrong thing.
>>
>> 1. Where can I find a fuller explanation of the options to "port"  
>> than that given by "man port"?
>> 2. How should I proceed in the light of the difficulties explained  
>> in the first paragraph?
>> 3. I am tempted to download the entire Darwinports/Macports tree,  
>> but it looks as though this would take ages even without the  
>> manual work described above.
>>
>> Comments on these 3 points would be welcome.
>
> The entire ports tree is already downloaded to your computer. I  
> believe it's usually in /opt/local/var/macports/sources/ 
> rsync.macports.org/release/ports. That's just the portfiles and  
> some patches, not the distribution source archives of each port.
>
> Please show us the exact error messages you're getting, and what  
> command you've typed to receive it.

I can't reproduce these errors. I tried installing one or two  
additional packages and they went through without complaint. Luckily  
a small amount of evidence survives from my xterm's memory and here  
it is:

hottie:~% sudo port install gnupg
--->  Activating gnupg 1.4.7_0
Error: Target org.macports.activate returned: Image error: /opt/local/ 
share/locale/locale.alias already exists and does not belong to a  
registered port.  Unable to activate port gnupg.
Error: Status 1 encountered during processing.
hottie:~% sudo rm -i /opt/local/share/locale/locale.alias
remove /opt/local/share/locale/locale.alias? y
hottie:~% sudo port install gnupg
--->  Activating gnupg 1.4.7_0
--->  Cleaning gnupg

I think I would have had to rm and restart about 50 times during  
installation of gnupg, but fortunately I was able to remove a whole  
lot of files at once, using Unix * wildcard. Don't like using  
wildcards when I'm root.

Since not one single package I have installed has reported that it is  
up to date, it looks as though I should do something like "sudo port  
install all", shouldn't I?

David David.Epstein at warwick.ac.uk