The ease of downloading precompiled binaries.

[Michael]

I'd like to understand the Mac ports philosophy on this.

I was able to download a precompiled binary for ffmpeg, and ffprobe.

In both cases, it was a single file. In both cases it just worked.

Right now, trying to deal with a current version that won't compile, and past versions that are linked against different versions of libraries, it is a complete bleep.

Why is it not possible to just ask for "link against whatever version of this library is current"?
Why, if I have to link against one exact specific version of a library at one exact location, can I not just make it a static link?

Why do I have to have what looks to be the worst possible case of dynamic linking?

As I said: I'm trying to understand the thinking here. I'm trying to understand the philosophy here.

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