ports vs packages

[Warren Block]

On Mon, 9 Jan 2012, Polytropon wrote:

> On Mon, 9 Jan 2012 12:17:37 -0500, alexus wrote:
>> Ports vs Packages?
>>
>> /usr/ports vs pkg_*
>>
>> pros/cons
>
> In short:
>
> ports:
> 	pro:
> 		most current, if properly updated
> 		build from source (security!)
> 		apply optimization (speed!)
> 		apply compile-time options (functionality!)
> 		highly configurable
> 		easy updating of installed stuff
> 	cons:
> 		requires time
> 		requires disk space
> 		requires CPU
> packages:
> 	pro:
> 		fast installation
> 		less typing
> 		works good on low resource systems
> 	cons:
> 		not "bleeding edge"
> 		not all ports available as packages
> 		primarily means of "first time installation"

Don't forget that ports build based on installed libraries.  Packages 
have been built on another system and may expect different versions than 
are present on the target system.

A pretty good analogy is custom-tailored versus off-the-rack.