OpenBSD: About Ports and Packages

w3bd3vil · 09-16-2006, 11:58 AM

you could do it either way, it isnt that you are building a security flaw you know. its the matter of taste, I would say.

lord-fu · 09-17-2006, 07:56 PM

Absolutely, they are both great. So far my preference has been ports.

SteveK1979 · 09-18-2006, 05:53 PM

Hi jaakkop,

OpenBSD is an excellent OS, you should definitely give it a go.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaakkop

I'm considering on installing OpenBSD, but before doing that, I need to know if I should use ports instead of packages.

There is a few software in -current ports that I need, like irssi 0.8.10a. 3.9 provides a package of irssi-0.8.9 but I definately need irssi-0.8.10. Should I fetch the ports or should I just get the sources and build the software manually?

Sorry about this question. I'm really confused.

As has already been said, this is essentially a matter of personal choice although OpenBSD do recommend you use the pre-compiled Packages. I do use ports though.

However, what you do need to know is that you cannot use the ports tree from -current on OpenBSD 3.9. The ports tree has a version to go with each release, so if you want to use the -current ports tree, you also need to be running OpenBSD-current. I do this and find it's not a problem, even -current is very stable.

Cheers,
Steve

jaakkop · 09-18-2006, 10:50 PM