packages or ports?

[carusone]

Hello,
im new to the forum, im a new openbsd user... i begin write here cause also searching online i havent found a final answer. The question is like was said here ports/packages. If i understood correctly, assuming im with OBSD 5.6, i find same programs both in packages and ports. Only difference is that in packages they are already compiled, while in ports i have to compile in my computer. So mainly why i should use ports if i can go faster using packages? and if i have to use only packages, why people use ports?

thanks in advance!
c.

[jggimi]

Hello and welcome!

Users will need ports only when a package is not available. Here are three examples:

1. A -release user wants a particular $FLAVOR combination which was not already available as a package.
2. A -stable user wishes to install a -stable port that is not available as a package from the Project (or from M:Tiier, if the -stable user chooses to use that external resource).
3. A -current user who cannot use the Project's' "snapshot package" either due to synchronization with the OS or due to availability of snapshot packages for that particular architecture.

[carusone]

Originally Posted by jggimi

Hello and welcome!

Users will need ports only when a package is not available. Here are three examples:

1. A -release user wants a particular $FLAVOR combination which was not already available as a package.
2. A -stable user wishes to install a -stable port that is not available as a package from the Project (or from M:Tiier, if the -stable user chooses to use that external resource).
3. A -current user who cannot use the Project's' "snapshot package" either due to synchronization with the OS or due to availability of snapshot packages for that particular architecture.

Thanks a lot, so mainly for me, using 5.6 without any particular request i can go straight with packages...

thanks for the explanation
o7

[jggimi]

To repeat the summary from FAQ 15.4.6 (What should I use: packages or ports?)

...for most people and most applications, using packages is a much easier, and definitely the recommended way of adding applications to an OpenBSD system

[ocicat]

This side discussion has been separated from its parent thread:

http://daemonforums.org/showthread.php?t=8785

...as this subject centers around whether compiling ports should be done over using packages supplied by the OpenBSD project. The original thread focused on why did compiling ports fill up the /usr partition.

We find that most members of this site search through the archives of old threads for information on specific topics. To help facilitate easier searching, we ask all members to limit discussion to the topic started by the thread's originator. Digressions from the original subject make following conversation harder -- especially when:

• the subject involves complex technology.
• readers of the thread do not have English as their first, native language.

So, if you want to take discussion in a different direction, start a new thread. This practice is discussed in the forum rules.