Exactly how do variants work?

[Ryan Schmidt]

On May 5, 2012, at 02:26, Bjarne D Mathiesen wrote:

>>> What port commands should I use to add a variant to an installed port?
>>> Do I need to uninstall and re-install the whole port?
>> 
>> Yes, unfortunately that's how variants in MacPorts work. There's no distinction between variants that completely change how a port builds and those that just install extra files.

> How about subports ??? That might be a solution if it's really optional
> and really doesn't need a recompile of the primary port but 'just'
> installs some extra files.
> 
> That's how eg mysql55 & mysql55-server works

Yes, now that we have subports, port maintainers should please break ports into subports where appropriate and feasible.