.app vs. Ports

[Ryan Schmidt]

On Aug 17, 2010, at 11:05, Scott Webster wrote:
> If you update macports regularly you
> will get new versions, whereas with a .app you will have to download
> them separately.

...unless the app uses Sparkle or some other auto-update mechanism.

Basically I'd say using MacPorts lets you easily install software, keep it updated, and uninstall it. Meeting those needs without using MacPorts can be very easy for some projects (like those that offer Mac disk images with drag-install apps that auto-update), or can be very difficult for others (and for those, using MacPorts can be a great help).

Sometime MacPorts ports also provide variants for options which aren't available in other pre-packaged solutions.