gettext problem in FreeBSD 8.3 system hosed

[Michael Powell]

Antonio Olivares wrote:

[snip]
>> As following /usr/port/UPDATING, I ran into a bit of trouble.  System
>> is hosed and I cannot update any ports.  I tried to follow advice
>> here:
>>
>> 20130316:
>>   AFFECTS: users of converters/libiconv and devel/gettext
>>   AUTHOR: bapt at FreeBSD.org
>>
>>   libiconv now handles the lib/charset.alias file instead of
>>   devel/gettext. If you are using pkgng 'and' upgrading from source with
>>   portupgrade or portmaster, first delete gettext, upgrade libiconv, then
>>   reinstall gettext.
>>
>>   # pkg delete -f devel/gettext
>>   # portmaster converters/libiconv devel/gettext
>>     or
>>   # pkg delete -f devel/gettext
>>   # portupgrade converters/libiconv devel/gettext
[snip]
> 
> I have tried to follow the instructions included in
> /usr/ports/UPDATING but I have not succeeded in this machine.  I am
> thinking of moving it to 8.4-BETA1 release and then reworking the
> ports or deleting them and restarting in case of not having replies I
> have gotten myself out of trouble before but it can take days to get
> the machine back in working order :(
> 

Not exactly an answer here, in terms of recovery, but more along the lines 
of trying to figure out how it happened.

Did you previously convert this machine to pkgng? The reason I ask is the 
instructions in UPDATING _only_ apply if you did so. If you did not, then 
you did not need to pay any attention to that section in UPDATING.

I have not yet investigated the changeover to pkgng. I recently just did a 
portupgrade -a without doing as UPDATING suggested and had no difficulty with 
either port.  

So if you have not converted to pkgng then there is/was a misunderstanding 
in the reading of UPDATING. If you did convert to pkgng then you are in new 
territory I have not seen yet, and the point is moot.

-Mike