walkah: macports vs fink?
macports vs fink?
In setting up a new mac os x machine for development, I seem to fiddle with the various choices out there. In one respect, I really like linux for having 'one way' (per distribution of course) for installing all of your system packages. On the mac, however, there are a couple choices:
- Install everything from source: most control, biggest hassle
- Install things from various binary packages: least control, hassle monitoring updates & upgrades from different sources. Packages like MAMP lessen some of this burden, but I still need other tools like subversion, etc.
- Fink : installs a debian-like apt-get system
- MacPorts (formerly DarwinPorts): uses a freebsd-like ports system for managing packages.
Traditionally, I've used Fink - as I generally use Debian on servers, so I'm very familiar with apt-get, dpkg, etc. However, fink, perhaps like debian proper, seems to lag with packages in stable, and you typically have to use the ports-like fink command anyway.
This time around, too, I noticed that MacPorts is now hosted by Mac OS Forge: making it a (semi-)official Apple project. This probably bodes well for it's future and longevity. There's a port for php5, apache2 and mysql5... so I've decided to give it a whirl.
What are others using?
James Walker
fink is pretty good, be
fink is pretty good, be ready to install things to /usr/local from time to time but I've only got a couple things in there (specific version of mysql, for example)
Me a Fink
I'm using fink as well.
I'm hooked on Debian and the package management system, so Fink is for me.
The only gripe I have is the older versions of packages, as you had indicated in your article.
I've had very little experience with MacPorts and I'm interested in finding out how it has worked out for you.
Keep us posted on your experiences with MacPorts.
that sums it up
I came across your post while looking for someone to have answered this question for me! I've been a debian guy for years and so I was initially drawn to fink. As you note, you pretty much end up using the "fink" command rather than apt-get and dpkg. Due to some software availability (that I can't remember now) I have both fink and macports and it bugs me. I was hoping to go one way or the other finally, especially since now my macports installation is broken with libraries that it can't find. Anyway, I'll reinstall macports and try once again to make a clean break.
Macports for me
Somewhere on the net there's a great tutorial for getting MAMP up with Macports. I started out with Fink but have switched, mostly because I came from Gentoo and its ports clone. As you say, Macports also seems to be better caught-up for important packages. Overall, though, I think the most important thing is to pick one and stick with it.
i used to use fink, but now
i used to use fink, but now use macports, because i am an old-time freeBSD-head. i'm not really sure which i prefer, though, to be honest.
just did the opposite...
I just went the opposite direction after some library issues in ports that I couldn't roll back from.
Link.
Despite being a BSD
Despite being a BSD enthusiast, I am using almost exclusively fink (compiling from source). I found Macports installs less reliable.
macports because it had the 3
macports because it had the 3 packages i wanted to install, and fink didn't.
fink never caused any problems -- macPorts failed 2 out of 5
My in humble experiance fink is much more reliable. But I have to admit, that the last time I tried macPorts was a year ago (mid '08) and that I never used pre-compiled fink-packages. The only think I dislike about fink is the lack of the quasi-standart LaTeX-Package (TeXlive).
I had problems with MacPorts and now i've got Fink!
I had some problems with gcc and other deps using macports..
now with fink i'm ok..
I will not change to macports again..
Fink is definitely the way to
Fink is definitely the way to go to me.
First, I found it more reliable, second, you are able to tweak configuration in some extraordinary situations while keeping your package repository clean.
For instance, I was able to get imagemagick without hdri options (thanks to fink rebuild), mainly because RMagick do not work in this case. I doubt this would have even been possible with port... (unless you recompile/install it yourself of course).
need to delete my fink
ok so im making a cydia repo on a jailbroken ipod touch and i needed fink so i installed fink but then got rid of it and then needed to install again and when i try to install i get: A root directory /sw exists. Please see the Read Me file for update instructions, or for information on installing Fink on a separate volume. so obviously i didn't delete all the files so if anyone knows what needs to be deleted then PLEEEEASE reply i need it gone very badly
email me at tay_wallace@hotmail.com
There's pkgsrc
NetBSD's pkgsrc, that might also be worth looking into. It is a bit more old-fashioned than ports-like systems but it certainly gets the job done. I haven't found any practical use for it on the Mac, but it works under Darwin, so might be worth a shot.
Cheers,
Sabahattin
Nix on OS/X
You could also consider the Nix packaging system. Nix packages (http://nixos.org/nixpkgs/) runs on OS/X - and is cleanly separated from the rest. I.e. you can mix Nix with either fink or Macports. The safest way to use the latest version of software. I use it for development for different versions of the R interpreter, for example.