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FreeBSD Ports Collection Reaches 7000

An Anonymous Coward writes: "The FreeBSD ports collection has just had the 7000th port committed. The original message can be read in Kris Kennaway's post to freebsd-ports."

56 comments

  1. Giving Debian a run for its money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative
    Debian is currently around 9,500 and has the most ports of any Linux distribution.

    FreeBSD is catching up fast. Hopefully soon we'll have two spectacularly complete UNIX distributions to choose from!

    1. Re:Giving Debian a run for its money by __past__ · · Score: 2, Funny
      Debian is currently around 9,500 and has the most ports of any Linux distribution.
      Yeah, but we all know how they managed that...
    2. Re:Giving Debian a run for its money by Clue4All · · Score: 3, Insightful

      True, but that number is over-inflated. Debian counts ports for different parts of the same package, such as openssl, libopenssl, and libopenssl-devel for OpenSSL. These are all one OpenSSL port in FreeBSD, as it is with any library. I'd be surprised if Debian had a number close to equal to FreeBSD's ports if they were counted the same way.

      --

      Is your browser retarded?
    3. Re:Giving Debian a run for its money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uhm, maybe its just me but how in the hell does Debian having 9,500 packages qualify for being motrated "informative"?

    4. Re:Giving Debian a run for its money by essdodson · · Score: 1

      Soon? FreeBSD is already rock solid. I've never had it fail me. I suggest you give it another chance if this is based on an opinion of past experiences. The new release engineering is incredible, its much more open that it was a few years ago and as such much more bugs gets squished during the release process.

      --
      scott
    5. Re:Giving Debian a run for its money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, at least FreeBSD releases stable every 6 months. Debian? Well-- one of the reason why I left it!

    6. Re:Giving Debian a run for its money by Arandir · · Score: 2

      I noticed that too about Debian. The "atomicity" of the packages under Debian is far lower than that under FreeBSD. One port in FreeBSD might equate to up to four packages on Debian.

      It's silly to claim that one or the other has the most packages. I'll still root for FreeBSD though...

      --
      A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
  2. Just in time by __past__ · · Score: 3, Interesting
    ... given there is a freeze for the ports tree scheduled friday, due to the upcoming 4.6 release.

    Imagine how many it could be if it wouldn't take so darn long until ports made by non-commiters make it in CVS. There are a lot of open "New Port:" pr's in GNATS, and I strongly doubt that they are all problematic in any way, problably nobody found the time to look at them in most cases. This is quite annoying, if you created a port and it sits there uncommited for months.

    However, congrats to all porters! Keep on the good work.

    1. Re:Just in time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Every time I've submitted a port or a modification to a port, it was committed within 1 day.

    2. Re:Just in time by bpalmer · · Score: 1

      I seriously doubt that. Mine (PR37729) is 24 days old and hasn't been touched yet.

    3. Re:Just in time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      It is official Netcraft confirms: *BSD is dying

      One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

      You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

      FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

      Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

      OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

      Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

      All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

      Fact: *BSD is dying

    4. Re:Just in time by Arandir · · Score: 2

      Do what I do: "Dear Mr. Committer, I noticed that my port has been languishing in GNATS for a month now. Is there a problem with this port? Is it failing to build? Is it breaking hier(7)? Please let me know so I can fix it."

      I get the response: "Nothing's wrong with it, we're just backlogged. Here, I'll commit it right now... Thanks for your patience."

      (of course, right before the 4.6 freeze, they REALLY are backlogged)

      --
      A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
  3. Less than 3% GNU software? (offtopic) by timothy · · Score: 1

    Dear Clue4All:

    Curious about your sig, and where your figure of less than 3% comes from. Do you have a program which actually sorts / categorizes the software on your machine by license? That sounds like an interesting statistic, I wonder what various populations's result curves would look like in that case ...

    timothy

    --
    jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
    1. Re:Less than 3% GNU software? (offtopic) by Clue4All · · Score: 1

      The 3% is an approximation based on disk space usage of my distribution's components. It's not precise and is little more than my opinion on what I think of people who shout about how it should be called GNU/Linux when I have things that I find much more essential than GNU software taking up more space on my system (and now's definitely not the time to debate it, for anyone else that's reading). Sorry, I don't have anything that interesting besides counting up the disk space of GNU packages, though it would be an interesting thing to find out the statistics on.

      --

      Is your browser retarded?
    2. Re:Less than 3% GNU software? (offtopic) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What a fantastic argument. You see, I've just discovered that Linux, the kernel and modules, only takes up 1% of my used disk space! So I think we shouldn't call it Linux.

      In other words, your argument is ridiculous. I personally call it Linux in general chit-chat, but I don't have a problem with other people calling it what they want. The GNU project was hugely instrumental in the development of "Linux", and it's fair that some people want to give it credit.

      Going by percentages of disk-spaced used is laughable. One of my boxes is pretty much bare apart from Mozilla and StarOffice; the latter taking up more than anything else. Should it be StarOffice/Linux then?

      MKS

    3. Re:Less than 3% GNU software? (offtopic) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So the company that binds a book that you publish should get their name in the title? You're a fucking moron.

    4. Re:Less than 3% GNU software? (offtopic) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh dear. At least come up with a decent analogy next time. A book publisher contributes nothing to the content; hence it only deserves recognition on the spine or in a corner somewhere.

      The GNU Project didn't do the equivalent of "binding" some bits of software together -- that's the job of the distributors. GNU developed stacks of useful tools, docs and programs which make up a "Linux" system, and provided the foundation of the OS we know today.

      Your argument is pretty lame, but then you have to end your post with immature insults. Tell me, do you get out much? Got many friends? Your life is probably crap, so I simply pity you :)

  4. port == source or binary package ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is a port equivalent to a source package, a binary package, neither, or both ?

    1. Re:port == source or binary package ? by someonehasmyname · · Score: 1

      a port is the source, with freebsd specific diffs, that gets patched and then compiled.

      --
      Common sense is not so common.
    2. Re:port == source or binary package ? by mrowlands · · Score: 1

      and a package is the binary version....so you can
      do:

      make package

      which will compile and install the port (from source) and also create a binary package you can then add to your other machines.....Hoo Har!

  5. Re:7000 ports == lots of unportable software by someonehasmyname · · Score: 1

    okay, first I'll explain how ports work... then I'll tell show you that your numbers are wrong.

    to download new ports you use cvs. they're broken down into categories. www, ftp, sysutils, audio, etc. when you run your cvs script, it will always download files called: Makefile, distinfo, pkg-comment, pkg-descr, and pkg-plist. Occasionally it will create a "files" directory and include patches. It always downloads the patches, because they're generally small anyways.

    Just to have exact figures I downloaded all of the ports while writing this (I usually don't download ports having to do with japanese, chinese, etc.)

    Here's what I found:

    /usr/ports# find . -type d -maxdepth 1 -ls
    returns 54 directories, one is "." and four don't count. (they're used by FreeBSD)

    /usr/ports# find . -type d -maxdepth 2 | wc -l
    returns 7111 results. Now we need to subtract the 55 "."'s and all of those "."'s have a "." of their own.

    7111 results, minus 110 = 7001 total ports.

    /usr/ports# du -h
    returns 266 megs.

    266 megs / 7001 ports = 0.038 megs per port.

    --
    Common sense is not so common.
  6. Re:7000 ports == lots of unportable software by cant_get_a_good_nick · · Score: 1
    maybe...

    find /usr/ports -type d -maxdepth 2 ! -name '.' ! -name '..' | wc -l


    still have to remove BSD special ones from this

  7. Re:7000 ports == lots of unportable software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    266 megs / 7001 ports = 0.038 megs per port.

    Did you clean /usr/ports/distfiles/ ? Last I heard the whole ports tree was only about 15MB or so (of Makefiles, patches, descriptions, etc.)... In fact, you can even download a current tarball of the entire ports tree - see www.freebsd.org/ports

    So, if it really is 7001 ports, the calculation is 15/7001 = .0021MB per port...

  8. This story is pointless and stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So what if the FreeBSD ports collection has reached some arbitrary size? Why is this news?

    1. Re:This story is pointless and stupid by Daeron · · Score: 1

      It's news for the exact same reason that the release of Linux-development kernel gazillion-and-one is slashdot Frontpage News.

    2. Re:This story is pointless and stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hot off the presses! Linux kernel 2.5.17.sub89-RC3-p6, code named "Tuesday Evening Sometime Around Six" has been released! Get it now!

  9. Is there a collection of sources packages by Krapangor · · Score: 2, Interesting
    usable with the ports system out there ?
    If you are at a slow internet connection you cannot afford to download all the sources.
    I think this is the main flaw of the ports system and the reason why *BSD is not used of stand alone desktops very often.
    Yes, I know that there are binary packages out there now.

    BTW: a search in the posts package for "bsd is dying" returns "Sorry, nothing found. You may look for other FreeBSD Search Services."
    It seems that there is still much to do for them.

    --
    Owner of a Mensa membership card.
    1. Re:Is there a collection of sources packages by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you know that there are binary packages out there, then why are you asking?

      They exist, you can grab them from the ftp mirrors or you can grab the latest version from the build cluster (although Id ont think that's what it's intended for :)). You may also pkg_add -r. You may also do a 'make package' on another more capable box and copy the package over. This is handy for distributing an application over many boxes.

    2. Re:Is there a collection of sources packages by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      go easy on the guy - he needs a lot of explanation of simple things. He is, afterall, a Mensa member. *snicker*

    3. Re:Is there a collection of sources packages by essdodson · · Score: 1

      I'm sure exactly what you're asking. It looks like you're contradicting yourself. Are you asking for sources? Ports are nothing but a patchset with automated compilation procedures to grab the sources, build and install.

      Are you looking for binary packages? pkg_add -r mozilla or whatever you're looking for. The majority of the packages users want are available on the ISO for install as well.

      Rather than telling us about your mensa membership, why not show us through a stroke of pure brilliance.

      --
      scott
    4. Re:Is there a collection of sources packages by biglig2 · · Score: 2

      He doesn't say he is a member of Mensa, just that he owns a membership card. ;-)

      Ina similar way, just because CowboyNeal owns a star trek uniform, doesn't mean he is a member of StarFleet... or is he?

      --
      ~~~~~ BigLig2? You mean there's another one of me?
    5. Re:Is there a collection of sources packages by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Yes. It's called the FreeBSD Toolkit, and can be found at the following address: http://www.freebsdmall.com/cgi-bin/fm/bsdtool?id=Z jIbzhtY&mv_pc=21. This box contains most of the source archives ("distfiles") you can use locally for compiling the Ports (put them in /usr/ports/distfiles).

    6. Re:Is there a collection of sources packages by marcovje · · Score: 1

      cd /usr/src
      make fetch

      and have one of your friends burn it, or buy/copy the disc set.

      (note it probably wiser to simply select the ports
      you need, put a make fetch for that port in a script... and have a friend run the script)

  10. Freshports by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hmm, Freshports shows 6997 ports as of today. They must be behind a little. Does anyone know the number if you don't count the other languages like russian and japanese ports? It seems that those are mostly repeats of ports already in the collection.

  11. Re:7000 ports == lots of unportable software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    from a clean ports sup -

    % wc -l INDEX
    7003 INDEX

    % du -h ports
    109M ports

  12. Re:7000 ports == lots of unportable software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Your math should contain an operator to model unzipping. So it's more than 15MB unpacked.
    ~300 MB is a good approximation.

  13. Ports by The_Final_Word · · Score: 1


    Ports schmorts, don't be girly grab the source and compile. If it doesn't work it's not worth trying.

    Anyways, who's going to count them all to make sure no-one's telling fibs?

    --
    The Final Word
    1. Re:Ports by corrosiv · · Score: 1


      "grab the source and compile" is exactly what the BSD ports system does

    2. Re:Ports by nochops · · Score: 1

      Ummm....ports are source, dipshit.

      Don't be girly and just make dumb comments about BSD's features when you haven't a clue.

      --
      "A terrorist is someone who has a bomb but doesn't have an air force." -William Blum
  14. Elegy for FreeBSD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am a *BSD user
    and I try hard to be brave
    That is a tall order
    *BSD's foot is in the grave.

    I tap at my toy keyboard
    and whistle a cheerful tune
    but keeping happy is so hard,
    *BSD will be die real soon.

    Each day I wake and softly sob
    Nightfall finds me crying
    Not only am I a zit faced slob
    but *BSD is dying.
  15. *BSD is dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    It is official - Netcraft confirms: *BSD is dying

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

    FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that *BS has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BS continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

    Fact: *BSD is dying

  16. Re:7000 ports == lots of unportable software by Bishop · · Score: 2

    I suspect you are trolling. but...

    Two many people know how to write code, but don't know how to develope code. A symptom of this problem is that you get code that was written on a Linux platform, but was not written or designed for a Unix platform. So yes there is lots of unportable code.

    The need for a ports system would exist regardless of the "quality of free software." Perfectly portable code will always require some patching to configure the software for the target OS. Even if all the patch does is move the location of the documents from /usr/share/doc to /usr/doc. Until every distro, and every Unix-like OS is identical this will be the case.

  17. gak! minor correction by Bishop · · Score: 2

    damn, even after a preview:

    s/Two/Too/

  18. Re:7000 ports == lots of unportable software by kkenn · · Score: 1

    The way I counted them was by building a new INDEX file (one entry per port) and then running wc -l on it :-)