[TxMt] DarwinPorts or Fink

[William Scott]

Eric Coleman wrote:
> I think i've asked before, but I can't seem to find it in the
> archives...
>
> DarwinPorts or Fink...
>
> What does the list prefer and why?
>

It need not be an either/or proposition.  I have both, but use fink about
99% of the time.  If you need scientific software, it clearly has a much
wider selection.  I also maintain a few packages and am extremely
impressed with the quality control and dedication of the fink core team,
not to mention their helpfulness. It has very active mail lists and an
extremely helpful and knowledgeable user community.

It is based on the Debian package management system, which I think is very
well designed.  (It in fact impelled me to switch to Ubuntu linux from the
RH beast.)

FWIW, I think it is inviting trouble to put either in /usr/local.  The
whole idea for having /opt/local or /sw is to avoid conflicts, and in case
of trouble, you can move or delete those directories easily.  Both make a
point of keeping stuff isolated within their respective domains.  The
advantages of this are large, and the inconveniences are neglegable.