On Aug 31, 2007, at 09:21, N_Ox wrote:
Le 30 août 07 à 19:40, Anders F Björklund a écrit :
Ryan Schmidt wrote:
Why do we keep repeating these lines in so many portfiles? Why isn't "configure.compiler gcc-4.0" the default on darwin 8, and similarly, "configure.compiler gcc-3.3" the default on darwin 7?
+1
If nothing else, it keeps those pesky "+darwin_8" variants alive. :-(
I don't even understand why there is a default compiler hard written in ports. gcc-4 is the default on Tiger, users who change this behaviour surely know some things may break.
Don't be so sure. The user population of Mac OS X is not like those of other UNIX-like operating systems. Users who use Linux and *BSD and similar operating systems have, I presume, chosen to do so because they are programmers or system administrators or similar who do not mind that the OS is a bit difficult to use, or don't even think it is difficult to use. They understand the system, understand the implications of what they do, understand how to write scripts, and have a basic understanding of what a compiler is and does. With Mac users, you should not assume these things. I don't mean to suggest that Mac users aren't smart; what I mean is that the Mac was introduced as being "the computer for the rest of us" [1] -- the computer for those who don't want or need to know how the computer works, but who just want to get their work done. And if that work involves installing some tool, then such users will look for a tutorial that explains how to do it. And if that tutorial tells them to "gcc_select 3.3" before compiling the software, the user will happily do just that, without knowing what implications it will have. The implications are apparently that on Tiger, many ports fail to build, leading the authors of hundreds of ports to include directives in their portfiles explicitly specifying gcc-4.0 on Tiger. (At least, that is the only reason I can think of for all these "platform darwin 8" sections appearing.) I'm arguing that we should remove these directives from the hundreds of ports where they currently appear, and instead put it in MacPorts base so that all 4200+ ports can benefit. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ List_of_Apple_Inc._slogans#Company_advertising_campaigns