Chapter 16. Installing Additional Software


IN THIS CHAPTER

  • Introduction to Packages

  • Installing Packages

  • Removing and Upgrading Packages

  • Introduction to Ports

  • Installing and Removing Ports

  • Updating and Maintaining Your Ports

  • Upgrading a Port

  • Fresh Ports

Up until now, we have covered topics that are largely applicable to many different types of UNIX systems. Pretty much any such system, whether commercial or open source, operates the same way regarding the filesystem structure, process automation, and general administration. What sets FreeBSD apart from its brethren (Linux and commercial UNIX software) is the model by which the administrator adds new software.

With Solaris for example, if you want to add a new piece of the software to the system, you have to find a precompiled binary for your particular platform and install it yourself (usually without the aid of installers that help you put it in the right place), because Solaris typically doesn't come with gcc (the standard GNU C/C++ compiler). Other systems, such as IRIX and HP-UX, do come with gcc, but you still have to find the source code for the program you want to install and then run its configuration script, compile it (a step that's often much easier said than done), and install it. This configuration and installation process is fairly standardized, but it's still completely voluntary and controlled by each individual software developer, so there's no guarantee that one program's installation process will work the same as another's.

Different flavors of Linux take this a step further with the concept of packages, which are essentially all-in-one bundles that contain the proper executable binary for your system as well as any required libraries, plus the necessary information about where to install everything as appropriate to the system's layout. The Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) system is a GNU-licensed packager that runs on many systems, including FreeBSD. Its popularity was a large part of what pushed Red Hat to the top of the Linux distributors, edging out the previous favorite, Slackware, which is now all but forgottenwhich should illustrate well how important a good packaging system can be. RPM allowed administrators to keep tabs on their installed software and to upgrade, uninstall, and add new packages with unprecedented ease.

But FreeBSD takes things to yet another level of convenience. It has its own package management system, the pkg_* tools, which this chapter covers in detail. FreeBSD also has a supplementary system called the ports. Ports allow you to compile software from its original sources with one-command simplicity and as close to a guarantee of quality as you can get in the open-source world.




FreeBSD 6 Unleashed
FreeBSD 6 Unleashed
ISBN: 0672328755
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 355
Authors: Brian Tiemann

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