! OpenBSD is a fairly complete system of its own, but still there is a lot
! of software that one might want see added. However there is the problem
! on where to draw the line as to what to include, as well as the occasional
! licensing and export restriction problems. As OpenBSD is supposed to be
! a small stand-alone UNIX-like operating system, some things just can't be
! shipped with the system.
!
! We wanted to find a way for users to easily get software we don't provide
! and started to look around. We didn't have to look far, as sibling project
! FreeBSD already had an
excellent mechanism
! for exactly this purpose called
! "The ports collection".
!
! At first we tried to use their collection as-is, but due to
! incompatibility problems between FreeBSD and OpenBSD we decided to branch
! out and create our very own OpenBSD Ports Project using FreeBSD's as a
! starting point. This also allows us to tune the ports better to our
! system.
!
Short description and setup
!
! The ports idea is to have, for each piece of software, a Makefile that
! controls
!
!
where to fetch it,
!
how to do the fetch,
!
what it depends upon (if anything),
!
how to alter the sources (if needed),
!
and how to configure, build and install it.
!
!
! This information is kept in a directory hierarchy under the
! /usr/ports directory.
!
Getting the Ports tree
!
! The ports source tree can be retrieved via:
!
!
Anonymous CVS (see link). The command is
! essentially cvs get ports.
!
! You can also ftp the latest release version from the pub/OpenBSD/[version]
! (where [version] is the release number, e.g. 2.5) directory
! on any of the ftp mirror sites.
! The release versions are the ones we ship on our CDROM, and has gone
! through better testing than any snapshot. However, they age pretty
! quickly, due to older distribution files disappearing from the net as
! new releases arrive. Therefore, you likely will want to get and use
! a newer version of the ports tree.
!
Example use of the Ports tree
!
! Let's say you managed to get a ports tree and you want to compile and
! install the archiving utility unzip. You should be able to
do something like this:
! OpenBSD is a fairly complete system of its own, but still there is a lot
! of software that one might want see added. However there is the problem
! on where to draw the line as to what to include, as well as the occasional
! licensing and export restriction problems. As OpenBSD is supposed to be
! a small stand-alone UNIX-like operating system, some things just can't be
! shipped with the system.
!
!
! We wanted to find a way for users to easily get software we don't provide
! and started to look around. We didn't have to look far, as sibling project
! FreeBSD already had an
excellent mechanism
! for exactly this purpose called
! "The ports collection".
!
!
! At first we tried to use their collection as-is, but due to
! incompatibility problems between FreeBSD and OpenBSD we decided to branch
! out and create our very own OpenBSD Ports Project using FreeBSD's as a
! starting point. This also allows us to tune the ports better to our
! system.
!
!
Short description and setup
!
!
! The ports idea is to have, for each piece of software, a Makefile that
! controls
!
!
where to fetch it,
!
how to do the fetch,
!
what it depends upon (if anything),
!
how to alter the sources (if needed),
!
and how to configure, build and install it.
!
!
! This information is kept in a directory hierarchy under the
! /usr/ports directory.
!
Getting the Ports tree
!
! The ports source tree can be retrieved via:
!
!
Anonymous CVS (see link). The command is
! essentially cvs get ports.
!
! You can also ftp the latest release version from the pub/OpenBSD/[version]
! (where [version] is the release number, e.g. 2.5) directory
! on any of the ftp mirror sites.
! The release versions are the ones we ship on our CDROM, and has gone
! through better testing than any snapshot. However, they age pretty
! quickly, due to older distribution files disappearing from the net as
! new releases arrive. Therefore, you likely will want to get and use
! a newer version of the ports tree.
!
!
Example use of the Ports tree
!
!
! Let's say you managed to get a ports tree and you want to compile and
! install the archiving utility unzip. You should be able to
do something like this:
% cd /usr/ports/archivers/unzip
***************
*** 88,124 ****
# make install
# exit
! Easy, huh?
!
Port status information
!
! The ports status page is updated as
! team members add new ports and verify existing ports. Existing
! ports are continually verified to validate source availability and
! proper operation with the current OpenBSD sources. The page notes
! the date last checked and the nature of any change. This is a new
! resource that is not yet complete. If you have any information to
! add to the status page please send it to
! ports@OpenBSD.ORG.
!
Creating new ports
!
! If you are interested in helping to expand the OpenBSD ports tree
! you should first read porting.html.
! That page references the porting section of the
! FreeBSD handbook
! as well as OpenBSD specific policies and hints.
!
Problems and contacts
!
! If you have trouble with ports please send e-mail to the OpenBSD
! ports mailing list, ports@OpenBSD.ORG.
! Corrections are always welcome, but in any case do please provide:
!
!
The output of uname -a,
!
Your OpenBSD version, including any patches you may have applied,
!
! The ports status page is updated as
! team members add new ports and verify existing ports. Existing
! ports are continually verified to validate source availability and
! proper operation with the current OpenBSD sources. The page notes
! the date last checked and the nature of any change. This is a new
! resource that is not yet complete. If you have any information to
! add to the status page please send it to
! ports@OpenBSD.ORG.
!
!
Creating new ports
!
!
! If you are interested in helping to expand the OpenBSD ports tree
! you should first read porting.html.
! That page references the porting section of the
! FreeBSD handbook
! as well as OpenBSD specific policies and hints.
!
!
Problems and contacts
!
!
! If you have trouble with ports please send e-mail to the OpenBSD
! ports mailing list, ports@OpenBSD.ORG.
! Corrections are always welcome, but in any case do please provide:
!
!
The output of uname -a,
!
Your OpenBSD version, including any patches you may have applied,
!
![[OpenBSD]](images/smalltitle.gif){kind=small}
! 