#44494: p5.xx-modul -> is macports creating another "RPM" hell? ------------------------------+-------------------------------- Reporter: ora.et.labora@… | Owner: macports-tickets@… Type: defect | Status: new Priority: Normal | Milestone: Component: base | Version: 2.3.1 Resolution: | Keywords: Port: | ------------------------------+-------------------------------- Changes (by ryandesign@…): * cc: ryandesign@… (added) * type: request => defect Comment: Replying to [comment:3 larryv@…]:
However, some software changes so much between versions and is critical to so much other software that we //have to// keep multiple versions around, or a ton of other stuff would break. Compilers (`gcc*`, `clang*`, `llvm*`), language implementations (`python*`, `perl*`, `ruby*`), and databases (`mysql*`, `postgresql*`) are the usual culprits.
Right. If for example you are a web site designer and you've written a web site with php 5.3 and mysql 5.1, it's possible that upgrading to php 5.5 and mysql 5.6 would break your site. You may not have time right now to fix your site to be compatible with the newer versions, or you may have designed the site for a client who is not paying you to make these changes. In these cases you may want to be able to stay on the older versions for that site, while still allowing you to simultaneously install and use newer versions for newer sites. The current configuration of ports in MacPorts makes this possible. With mysql we have the added issue that some users are disenchanted with the notion that mysql is now owned by oracle, prompting both the original developer of mysql and others to fork mysql, so we now additionally have the mariadb and percona ports from which users can choose. In all ports that use mysql, we should offer variants for the user to choose which of these they want to use, and we should have a consistent default. That's tracked generally in #39961 and in a few other tickets for some individual ports. Any further discussion should probably occur on the mailing lists. -- Ticket URL: <https://trac.macports.org/ticket/44494#comment:4> MacPorts <http://www.macports.org/> Ports system for OS X