How to keep install base clean and slim?

[Tobias Weisserth]

Hi everybody,

I have a very basic question that I couldn't answer for myself by  
looking at the port manpage or by searching the macports website.

My install base is cluttered by many inactive versions of ports that  
I cannot uninstall without running in dependency problems.

For example, this is a list of all the ports that I have installed:

The following ports are currently installed:
   a2ps @4.13b_3 (active)
   aalib @1.4rc5_2 (active)
   apr @1.2.11_0 (active)
   apr @1.2.8_0
   apr @1.2.9_0
   apr-util @1.2.10_0 (active)
   apr-util @1.2.8_2
   aspell @0.60.5_0 (active)
   aterm @1.0.0_0+darwin_8 (active)
   atk @1.18.0_0
   atk @1.20.0_0
   atk @1.20.0_1 (active)
   audiofile @0.2.6_0
   audiofile @0.2.6_1 (active)
   autoconf @2.61_0
   autoconf @2.61_1 (active)
   autogen @5.9.1_0+darwin_8
   autogen @5.9.2_0+darwin_8 (active)
   automake @1.10_0 (active)
   bison @2.3_0 (active)
   boehmgc @6.8_0+darwin_8
   boehmgc @7.0_0+darwin_8 (active)
   bzip2 @1.0.4_1 (active)
   cairo @1.4.10_0 (active)
   cairo @1.4.8_0
   cairomm @1.2.4_0 (active)
   clamav @0.91.1_0
   clamav @0.91.2_0 (active)
   cups-headers @1.1.15_1 (active)
   curl @7.16.2_0+darwin_8
   curl @7.16.4_0+darwin_8
   curl @7.17.0_0+darwin_8 (active)
   db44 @4.4.20_1+darwin_8 (active)
   dbh @1.0.24_1 (active)
   dbus @1.0.2_2 (active)
   dbus-glib @0.73_0
   dbus-glib @0.74_0 (active)
   dia @0.96.1_0 (active)
   docbook-xml-4.1.2 @4.1.2_1 (active)
   docbook-xml-4.2 @4.2_0 (active)
   docbook-xsl @1.72.0_0 (active)
   esound @0.2.38_1 (active)
   expat @2.0.1_0 (active)
   fcgi @2.4.0_1 (active)
   ffcall @1.10_0 (active)
   fluxbox @1.0.0_0 (active)
   fluxbox @1.0rc3_0
   fontconfig @2.4.2_0+macosx
   fontconfig @2.4.2_1+macosx (active)
   freetype @2.3.4_1
   freetype @2.3.5_0 (active)
   gail @1.18.0_0
   gail @1.20.0_0
   gail @1.20.0_1
   gail @1.20.1_1 (active)
   gawk @3.1.5_2 (active)
   gcc41 @4.1.2_1+darwin_8
   gcc41 @4.1.2_2+darwin_8 (active)
   gcc42 @4.2.0_0+darwin_8
   gcc42 @4.2.1_0+darwin_8
   gcc42 @4.2.2_0+darwin_8 (active)
   gconf @2.18.0.1_0
   gconf @2.20.0_1
   gconf @2.20.1_0 (active)
   getopt @1.1.4_0
   getopt @1.1.4_1 (active)
   gettext @0.16.1_0 (active)
   ghostscript @8.54_0
   ghostscript @8.60_0 (active)
   gimp-print @4.2.7_0 (active)
   gimp2 @2.2.14_0
   gimp2 @2.3.18_0
   gimp2 @2.3.19_0+gnome+python
   gimp2 @2.4.0-rc1_0+gnome+python
   gimp2 @2.4.0-rc3_0 (active)
   glib2 @2.12.12_0
   glib2 @2.12.13_0
   glib2 @2.14.0_0
   glib2 @2.14.1_0
   glib2 @2.14.2_0 (active)
   glibmm @2.12.10_0
   glibmm @2.12.9_0
   glibmm @2.14.0_0 (active)
   gmp @4.2.1_4+test (active)
   gnome-icon-theme @2.18.0_1
   gnome-icon-theme @2.20.0_0
   gnome-icon-theme @2.20.0_1 (active)
   gnome-keyring @0.8.1_0
   gnome-keyring @2.20.0_0
   gnome-keyring @2.20.1_0 (active)
   gnome-mime-data @2.18.0_3 (active)
   gnome-mime-data @2.4.3_0
   gnome-vfs @2.18.1_0
   gnome-vfs @2.20.0_1 (active)
   gnugetopt @1.2_1 (active)
   gnupg @1.4.7_0 (active)
   gnustep-base @1.14.0_0 (active)
   gnustep-gui @0.12.0_0 (active)
   gnustep-make @2.0.1_0+gnustep_layout (active)
   gnutls @1.6.3_0+darwin_8
   gnutls @2.0.0_0+darwin_8 (active)
   gsed @4.1.5_0
   gsed @4.1.5_1 (active)
   gtk-xfce-engine @2.2.9_0 (active)
   gtk2 @2.10.13_0
   gtk2 @2.10.14_0
   gtk2 @2.12.0_0
   gtk2 @2.12.1_0 (active)
   gtkmm @2.10.10_0
   gtkmm @2.12.0_0 (active)
   guile @1.8.1_2+darwin_8 (active)
   gzip @1.3.12_0+darwin_8 (active)
   heimdal @0.7.2_0
   heimdal @0.7.2_1
   heimdal @1.0.1_0
   help2man @1.36.4_0+darwin_8
   help2man @1.36.4_1+darwin_8 (active)
   hicolor-icon-theme @0.10_0 (active)
   howl @0.9.10_0
   howl @1.0.0_0 (active)
   icon-naming-utils @0.8.1_0
   icon-naming-utils @0.8.2_0
   icon-naming-utils @0.8.6_0 (active)
   inkscape @0.45.1_0 (active)
   intltool @0.35.5_0
   intltool @0.36.2_0 (active)
   jasper @1.701.0_0 (active)
   jpeg @6b_1
   jpeg @6b_2 (active)
   lame @3.97_0 (active)
   latex2html @2002-2-1_1 (active)
   lcms @1.16_0 (active)
   libart_lgpl @2.3.19_1
   libart_lgpl @2.3.19_2 (active)
   libbonobo @2.18.0_0
   libbonobo @2.20.0_1
   libbonobo @2.20.1_1 (active)
   libbonoboui @2.18.0_0
   libbonoboui @2.20.0_0
   libbonoboui @2.20.0_1 (active)
   libcroco @0.6.1_0
   libcroco @0.6.1_1 (active)
   libexif @0.6.13_1
   libexif @0.6.16_0
   libexif @0.6.16_1 (active)
   libgcrypt @1.2.4_0+darwin_8
   libgcrypt @1.2.4_1+darwin_8 (active)
   libglade2 @2.6.0_1
   libglade2 @2.6.1_1
   libglade2 @2.6.2_0 (active)
   libgnome @2.18.0_0
   libgnome @2.19.1_0
   libgnome @2.20.0_0
   libgnome @2.20.1.1_1 (active)
   libgnomecanvas @2.14.0_1
   libgnomecanvas @2.20.0_1
   libgnomecanvas @2.20.1.1_0 (active)
   libgnomecups @0.2.2_0
   libgnomecups @0.2.2_1 (active)
   libgnomeprint @2.12.1_0
   libgnomeprint @2.18.2_0 (active)
   libgnomeprintui @2.12.1_0
   libgnomeprintui @2.18.1_0 (active)
   libgnomeui @2.18.1_0
   libgnomeui @2.20.0_0
   libgnomeui @2.20.1.1_0 (active)
   libgpg-error @1.5_0
   libgpg-error @1.5_1 (active)
   libgsf @1.14.3_1
   libgsf @1.14.7_0 (active)
   libgtkhtml @2.11.0_0
   libgtkhtml @2.11.1_0 (active)
   libiconv @1.11_4+darwin_8
   libiconv @1.11_5+darwin_8
   libiconv @1.11_6+darwin_8 (active)
   libidl @0.8.8_0
   libidl @0.8.9_0 (active)
   libmad @0.15.1b_1 (active)
   libmcrypt @2.5.8_0+darwin_8 (active)
   libmng @1.0.9_0 (active)
   libogg @1.1.3_0
   libogg @1.1.3_1
   libogg @1.1.3_2 (active)
   libpcap @0.9.5_1 (active)
   libpng @1.2.18_0+darwin_8
   libpng @1.2.20_0+darwin_8
   libpng @1.2.22_0+darwin_8 (active)
   librsvg @2.16.1_1
   librsvg @2.18.2_1 (active)
   libsigcxx2 @2.0.17_0+darwin_8
   libsigcxx2 @2.0.18_0+darwin_8 (active)
   libtasn1 @0.3.9_0
   libtasn1 @1.1_0 (active)
   libtool @1.5.22_0
   libtool @1.5.24_0
   libtool @1.5.24_1 (active)
   libungif @4.1.4_0
   libungif @4.1.4_1
   libungif @4.1.4_2 (active)
   libvorbis @1.1.2_0
   libvorbis @1.2.0_0 (active)
   libwmf @0.2.8.4_0 (active)
   libxfce4mcs @4.2.4_0 (active)
   libxfce4util @4.2.4_0 (active)
   libxfcegui4 @4.2.4_0 (active)
   libxml2 @2.6.28_1
   libxml2 @2.6.29_0
   libxml2 @2.6.30_0 (active)
   libxslt @1.1.20_0
   libxslt @1.1.22_0 (active)
   lighttpd @1.4.15_0+darwin_8
   lighttpd @1.4.18_0+darwin_8 (active)
   lynx @2.8.6rel.5_0+ssl (active)
   lzo @1.08_0 (active)
   lzo2 @2.02_1+darwin_8
   lzo2 @2.02_2+darwin_8 (active)
   m4 @1.4.10_0
   m4 @1.4.10_1 (active)
   m4 @1.4.9_0
   mhash @0.9.9_0+darwin_8 (active)
   mpfr @2.2.1_1+darwin_8
   mpfr @2.3.0_1+darwin_8
   mpfr @2.3.0_2+darwin_8
   mpfr @2.3.0_4+darwin_8 (active)
   MPlayer @1.0rc1_4+darwin_8+darwin_powerpc+macosx (active)
   ncurses @5.6_0+darwin_8 (active)
   ncursesw @5.6_0+darwin_8 (active)
   neon @0.26.3_0
   neon @0.26.3_1
   neon @0.26.4_0 (active)
   netpbm @10.26.42_0+darwin_8
   netpbm @10.26.44_0+darwin_8 (active)
   nmap @4.20_0
   nmap @4.20_1 (active)
   opencdk @0.5.13_0
   opencdk @0.6.4_0 (active)
   openssl @0.9.8e_0+darwin_8
   openssl @0.9.8g_0+darwin_8 (active)
   orbit2 @2.14.10_1 (active)
   orbit2 @2.14.7_0
   orbit2 @2.14.9_1
   p5-getopt-long @2.36_0
   p5-getopt-long @2.37_0
   p5-locale-gettext @1.05_0 (active)
   p5-pathtools @3.25_0
   p5-test-harness @2.64_0
   p5-test-harness @2.64_1
   p5-test-simple @0.70_0
   p5-test-simple @0.72_0
   p5-xml-namespacesupport @1.09_0 (active)
   p5-xml-parser @2.34_3
   p5-xml-parser @2.34_4 (active)
   p5-xml-sax @0.16_0
   p5-xml-sax @0.16_1 (active)
   p5-xml-simple @2.16_0
   p5-xml-simple @2.18_0 (active)
   pango @1.16.4_0
   pango @1.16.5_0
   pango @1.18.1_0
   pango @1.18.2_0
   pango @1.18.3_0 (active)
   pcre @7.1_1+utf8
   pcre @7.2_0+utf8
   pcre @7.3_0
   pcre @7.4_0 (active)
   pear-base @1.4.9_1
   pear-base @1.6.2_0 (active)
   perl5.8 @5.8.8_0+darwin_8 (active)
   php5 @5.2.3_0+darwin_8+macosx
   php5 @5.2.4_0+darwin_8+macosx
   php5 @5.2.4_1+darwin_8+macosx (active)
   pkgconfig @0.21_0
   pkgconfig @0.22_0 (active)
   poppler @0.5.4_0
   poppler @0.6_0 (active)
   poppler-data @0.1_0 (active)
   popt @1.11_1
   popt @1.12_0 (active)
   potrace @1.7_0 (active)
   PreferencePanes @1.0.1_0 (active)
   psutils @p17_0 (active)
   pwgen @1.15_2
   pwgen @2.06_0
   pwgen @2.06_1 (active)
   py-xml @0.8.4_0 (active)
   py25-cairo @1.4.0_0
   py25-cairo @1.4.0_1 (active)
   py25-gobject @2.12.3_0
   py25-gobject @2.14.0_0 (active)
   py25-gtk @2.10.4_0
   py25-gtk @2.12.0_0 (active)
   py25-numeric @24.2_0+macosx
   py25-numeric @24.2_1+macosx (active)
   python24 @2.4.4_1+darwin_8 (active)
   python25 @2.5.1_1+darwin_8
   python25 @2.5.1_2+darwin_8 (active)
   qemu @0.9.0_1+darwin_8+macosx (active)
   qt3-mac @3.3.8_0 (active)
   rb-actionmailer @1.3.3_0 (active)
   rb-actionpack @1.13.3_0 (active)
   rb-actionwebservice @1.2.3_0 (active)
   rb-activerecord @1.15.3_0 (active)
   rb-activesupport @1.4.2_0 (active)
   rb-dbi @0.1.1_1 (active)
   rb-fcgi @0.8.6_0 (active)
   rb-rails @1.2.3_0 (active)
   rb-rake @0.7.3_0 (active)
   rb-rubygems @0.9.4_0 (active)
   readline @5.2.001_0
   readline @5.2.007_0 (active)
   render @0.9_0
   render @0.9_1 (active)
   ruby @1.8.6-p110_0+thread_hooks (active)
   ruby @1.8.6_0
   ruby @1.8.6_0+thread_hooks
   sqlite3 @3.4.0_0+darwin_8
   sqlite3 @3.4.0_1+darwin_8
   sqlite3 @3.4.1_0+darwin_8
   sqlite3 @3.4.2_0+darwin_8
   sqlite3 @3.4.2_1+darwin_8
   sqlite3 @3.5.1_0+darwin_8 (active)
   subversion @1.4.4_0
   subversion @1.4.5_0 (active)
   teTeX @3.0_4 (active)
   texi2html @1.76_3 (active)
   texinfo @4.11_0 (active)
   texinfo @4.8_2
   texinfo @4.9_0
   tiff @3.8.2_0+darwin_8
   tiff @3.8.2_1+darwin_8+macosx (active)
   watch @3.2.1_0
   watch @3.2.7_0 (active)
   wget @1.10.2_0+darwin_8 (active)
   windowmaker @0.92.0_2 (active)
   wireshark @0.99.5_0+darwin_8
   wireshark @0.99.6_0+darwin_8 (active)
   wm-extra @0.1_2 (active)
   xfcalendar @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xfce @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xfce-mcs-manager @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xfce-mcs-plugins @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xfce-utils @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xfce4-appfinder @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xfce4-icon-theme @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xfce4-iconbox @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xfce4-panel @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xfce4-systray @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xfce4-toys @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xfce4-trigger-launcher @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xfdesktop @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xffm @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xfprint @4.2.4_0 (active)
   Xft2 @2.1.12_0 (active)
   Xft2 @2.1.7_0
   xfwm4 @4.2.4_0
   xfwm4 @4.2.4_2 (active)
   xfwm4-themes @4.2.4_0 (active)
   xmlcatmgr @2.2_0
   xmlcatmgr @2.2_1 (active)
   xmlto @0.0.18_2
   xmlto @0.0.18_3 (active)
   xorg-util-macros @1.1.5_0 (active)
   xorg-xproto @7.0.10_0
   xorg-xproto @7.0.11_0 (active)
   xrender @0.9.0_0+darwin_8
   xrender @0.9.0_1+darwin_8 (active)
   zlib @1.2.3_1 (active)

How do I get rid of inactive, duplicate versions of ports that I have  
installed without hitting the dependency wall?

For example, I have numerous versions of GTK installed:

   gtk2 @2.10.13_0
   gtk2 @2.10.14_0
   gtk2 @2.12.0_0
   gtk2 @2.12.1_0 (active)

Though I should only need the latest which is active.

A "sudo port uninstall inactive" doesn't do the job. I have the  
feeling that macports is adding stuff to my system with every upgrade  
without getting rid of the old stuff and eating away at my hard drive  
space. What's the best way to solve this problem?

thanks for your help,

Tobias W.

*****
"God is real, unless declared integer."