[an error occurred while processing this directive] FreeBSD Handbook : Contributing to FreeBSD : How to contribute : Porting an existing piece of free software
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17.2.5. Porting an existing piece of free software

Contributed by Jordan Hubbard <jkh@FreeBSD.org> , Gary Palmer <gpalmer@FreeBSD.org> and Satoshi Asami <asami@FreeBSD.org> .
19 August 1995.

The porting of freely available software, while perhaps not as gratifying as developing your own from scratch, is still a vital part of FreeBSD's growth and of great usefulness to those who wouldn't otherwise know where to turn for it. All ported software is organized into a carefully organized hierarchy know as ``the ports collection''. The collection enables a new user to get a quick and complete overview of what's available for FreeBSD in an easy-to-compile form. It also saves considerable space by not actually containing the the majority of the sources being ported, but merely those differences required for running under FreeBSD.

What follows are some guidelines for creating a new port for FreeBSD 2.x . The ${..} variable names you will see in this document all refer to various user-overridable defaults used (and documented) by /usr/share/mk/bsd.port.mk. Please refer to that file for more details on the inner workings of the ports collection.

17.2.5.1. Before Starting the Port

Note: Only a fraction of the overridable variables are mentioned in this document. Most (if not all) are documented at the start of the bsd.port.mk file which can be found in /usr/share/mk. This file uses a non-standard tab setting. Emacs should recognize the setting on loading the file. vi or ex can be set to using the correct value by typing `:set tabstop=4' once the file has been loaded.

You may come across code that needs modifications or conditional compilation based upon what version of UNIX it's running under. If you need to make such changes to the code for conditional compilation, make sure you make the changes as general as possible so that we can back-port code to FreeBSD 1.x systems and cross-port to other BSD systems such as 4.4BSD from CSRG, BSD/386, 386BSD and NetBSD.

The preferred way to tell 4.3BSD/Reno and newer versions of the BSD code apart is by using the `BSD' macro defined in <sys/param.h>. Hopefully that file is already included; if not, add the code:

#ifdef _HAVE_PARAM_H
#include <sys/param.h>
#endif

to the proper place in the .c file and add -D_HAVE_PARAM_H to the CFLAGS in the Makefile.

Then, you may use:

#if (defined(BSD) && (BSD >= 199103))

to detect if the code is being compiled on a 4.3 Net2 code base or newer (e.g. FreeBSD 1.x, 4.3/Reno, NetBSD 0.9, 386BSD, BSD/386 1.1 and below).

Use:

#if (defined(BSD) && (BSD >= 199306))

to detect if the code is being compiled on a 4.4 code base or newer (e.g. FreeBSD 2.x, 4.4, NetBSD 1.0, BSD/386 2.0 or above).

Use sparingly:

In the dozens of ports that have been done, there have only been one or two cases where __FreeBSD__ should have been used. Just because an earlier port screwed up and used it in the wrong place doesn't mean you should do so too.

17.2.5.2. Quick Porting

This section tells you how to do a quick port. In many cases, it is not enough, but we'll see.

First, get the original tarball and put it into ${DISTDIR}, which defaults to /usr/ports/distfiles.

Note: The following assumes that the software compiled out-of-the-box, i.e., there was absolutely no change required for the port to work on your FreeBSD box. If you needed to change something, you'll have to refer to the next section too.

Writing the Makefile

The minimal Makefile would look something like this:

 # New ports collection makefile for:	oneko
 # Version required:	1.1b
 # Date created:		5 December 1994
 # Whom:			asami
 #
 # $Id: porting.sgml,v 1.11 1995/12/07 13:22:15 jkh Exp $
 #
 
 DISTNAME=	oneko-1.1b
 CATEGORIES+=	games
 MASTER_SITES=	ftp://ftp.cs.columbia.edu/archives/X11R5/contrib/
 
 MAINTAINER=	asami@FreeBSD.ORG
 
 USE_IMAKE=	yes
 
 .include <bsd.port.mk>

See if you can figure it out. Don't worry about the contents of the $Id$ line, it will be filled in automatically by CVS when the port is imported to our main ports tree.

Writing the description files

There are three required description files that are required for any port, whether they actually package or not. They are COMMENT, DESCR, and PLIST, and reside in the pkg subdirectory.

COMMENT

This is the one-line description of the port. It is recommended to not have the name of the package at the beginning, as in:

A cat chasing a mouse all over the screen

DESCR

This is a longer description of the port. One to a few paragraphs concisely explaining what the port does is sufficient. Note: This is not a manual nor an in-depth description on how to use or compile the port. In particular, please do not just copy the README file here, unless, of course, it's a concise description of the port.

It is recommended that you sign the name at the end of this file, as in:

This is a port of oneko, in which a cat chases a poor mouse all over
the screen.
 :
(etc.)

- Satoshi
asami@cs.berkeley.edu

PLIST

This file lists all the files installed by the port. It is also called the `packing list' because the package is generated by packing the files listed here. The pathnames are relative to the installation prefix (usually /usr/local or /usr/X11R6).

Here is a small example:

bin/oneko
man/man1/oneko.1.gz
lib/X11/app-defaults/Oneko
lib/X11/oneko/cat1.xpm
lib/X11/oneko/cat2.xpm
lib/X11/oneko/mouse.xpm

Creating the checksum file

Just type `make makesum'. The ports make rules will automatically generate the file files/md5.

Testing the port

You should make sure that the port rules do exactly what you want it to do, including packaging up the port. Try doing `make install', `make package' and then `pkg_delete -d <pkgname>' and see if all the files are correctly deleted. Then do a `pkg_add <pkgname>.tgz' and see if everything re-appears and works correctly.

Submitting the port

Now that you're happy with your port, the only thing remaining is to put it in the main FreeBSD ports tree and make everybody else happy about it too. To accomplish this, pack the necessary files (everything described in this section -- in particular do not include the original source tarball or the `work' subdirectory) into a .tar.gz file, stick it in the directory

ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/incoming/
and send mail to ports@freebsd.org. We will take a look, get back to you if necessary, and put it in the tree. Your name will also appear in the list of `Additional FreeBSD contributors' on the FreeBSD Handbook and other files. Isn't that great?!? :)

17.2.5.3. Slow Porting

Ok, so it wasn't that simple, and the port required some modifications to get it to work. In this section, we'll explain, step by step, how to modify it to get it to work with the ports paradigm.

How things work

First, this is the sequence of events which occurs when the user first types `make' in your port's directory, and you may find that having bsd.port.mk in another window while you read this really helps to understand it.

But don't worry if you don't really understand what bsd.port.mk is doing, not many people do... :>

  1. The fetch target is run. The fetch target is responsible for making sure that the tarball exists locally in ${DISTDIR}. If fetch cannot find the required files in ${DISTDIR} it will look up the ftp-URL ${MASTER_SITES}, which is set in the Makefile. It will then attempt to fetch the named distribution file with ${NCFTP}, assuming that the requesting site has direct access to the Internet. If that succeeds, it will save the file in ${DISTDIR} for future use and proceed.

  2. The extract target is run. It looks for your ports' distribution file in ${DISTDIR} (typically a gzip'd tarball) and unpacks it into a temporary subdirectory specified by ${WRKDIR} (defaults to work).

  3. The patch target is run. First, any patches defined in ${PATCHFILES} are applied. Second, if any patches are found in ${PATCHDIR} (defaults to the patches subdirectory), they are applied at this time in alphabetical order.

  4. The configure target is run. This can do any one of many different things.

    1. If it exists, scripts/configure is run.

    2. If ${HAS_CONFIGURE} or ${GNU_CONFIGURE} is set, ${WRKSRC}/configure is run.

    3. If ${USE_IMAKE} is set, ${XMKMF} (default: `xmkmf -a') is run.

  5. The build target is run. This is responsible for descending into the ports' private working directory (${WRKSRC}) and building it. If ${USE_GMAKE} is set, GNU make will be used, otherwise the system make will be used.

The above are the default actions. In addition, you can define targets `pre-<something>' or `post-<something>', or put scripts with those names, in the scripts subdirectory, and they will be run before or after the default actions are done.

For example, if you have a post-extract target defined in your Makefile, and a file pre-build in the scripts subdirectory, the post-extract target will be called after the regular extraction actions, and the pre-build script will be executed before the default build rules are done. It is recommended that you use Makefile targets if possible, because it will be easier for someone to figure out what kind of non-default action the port requires.

The default actions are done by the bsd.port.mk targets `do-<something>'. For example, the commands to extract a port are in the target `do-extract'. If you are not happy with the default target, and you can't fix it by redefining the `do-<something>' target in your Makefile.

Note that the `main' targets (e.g., extract, configure, etc.) do nothing more than make sure all the stages up to that one is completed and call the real targets or scripts, and they are not intended to be changed. If you want to fix the extraction, fix do-extract, but never ever touch extract!

Now that you understand what goes on when the user types `make', let's go through the recommended steps to create the perfect port.

Getting the original sources

Get the original sources (normally) as a compressed tarball (<foo>.tar.gz or <foo>.tar.Z) and copy it into ${DISTDIR}. Always use mainstream sources when and where you can.

If you can't find a ftp site that is well-connected to the net, or can only find sites that have irritatingly non-standard formats, we can `house' it ourselves by putting it on

ftp://freefall.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/LOCAL_PORTS/
as the last resort. Send mail to ports@freebsd.org if you are not sure what to do.

If your port requires some additional `patches' that are available on the Internet, fetch them too and put them in ${DISTDIR}. Don't worry if they come from site other than where you got the the main source tarball, we have a way to handle these situations (see the description of ${PATCHFILES} below).

Modifying the port

Unpack a copy of the tarball in a private directory and make whatever changes are necessary to get the port to compile properly under the current version of FreeBSD. Keep careful track of everything you do, as you will be automating the process shortly. Everything, including the deletion, addition or modification of files should be doable using an automated script or patch file when your port is finished.

If your port requires significant user interaction/customization to compile or install, you should take a look at one of Larry Wall's classic Configure scripts and perhaps do something similar yourself. The goal of the new ports collection is to make each port as `plug-and-play' as possible for the end-user while using a minimum of disk space.

Patching

In the preparation of the port, files that have been added or changed can be picked up with a recursive diff for later feeding to patch. This is the easiest kind of change to make as it doesn't involve any mucking around with configuration files. Each set of patches you wish to apply should be collected into a file named `patch-<xx>' where <xx> denotes the sequence in which the patches will be applied -- these are done in alphabetical order, thus `aa' first, `ab' second and so on. These files should be stored in ${PATCHDIR}, from where they will be automatically applied. All patches should be relative to ${WRKSRC} (generally the directory your port's tarball unpacks itself into, that being where the make is done). To make fixes and upgrades easier you should avoid having more than one patch fix the same file (e.g., patch-aa and patch-ab both changing ${WRKSRC}/foobar.c).

Configuring

Include any additional customization commands to your configure script and save it in the `scripts' subdirectory. As mentioned above, you can also do this as Makefile targets and/or scripts with the name pre-configure or post-configure.

Handling user input

If your port requires user input to build, configure or install, then set IS_INTERACTIVE in your Makefile. This will allow `overnight builds' to skip your port if the user sets the variable BATCH in his environment (and if the user sets the variable INTERACTIVE, then only those ports requiring interaction are built).

17.2.5.4. Configuring the Makefile

Configuring the Makefile is pretty simple, and again we suggest that you look at existing examples before starting. Consider the following problems in sequence as you design your new Makefile:

The original source

Does it live in ${DISTDIR} as a standard gzip'd tarball? If so, you can go on to the next step. If not, you should look at overriding any of the ${EXTRACT_CMD}, ${EXTRACT_BEFORE_ARGS}, ${EXTRACT_AFTER_ARGS}, ${EXTRACT_SUFX}, or ${DISTFILE} variables, depending on how alien a format your port's distribution file is. (The most common case is `EXTRACT_SUFX=.tar.Z', when the tarball is condensed by regular compress, not gzip.)

In the worst case, you can simply create your own `do-extract' target to override the default, though this should be rarely, if ever, necessary.

DISTNAME

You should set ${DISTNAME} to be the base name of your port. The default rules expect the distribution file list (${DISTFILES}) to be named ${DISTFILE}${EXTRACT_SUFX} by default which, if it's a normal tarball, is going to be something like:

	
foozolix-1.0.tar.gz
for a setting of `DISTNAME=foozolix-1.0'.

The default rules also expect the tarball(s) to extract into a subdirectory called work/${DISTNAME}, e.g.

	
work/foozolix-1.0/

All this behavior can be overridden, of course, it simply represents the most common time-saving defaults. For a port requiring multiple distribution files, simply set ${DISTFILES} explicitly. If only a subset of ${DISTFILES} are actual extractable archives, then set them up in ${EXTRACT_ONLY}, which will override the ${DISTFILES} list when it comes to extraction, and the rest will be just left in ${DISTDIR} for later use.

CATEGORIES and KEYWORDS

When a package is created, it is put under /usr/ports/packages/All and links are made from one or more subdirectories of /usr/ports/packages. The names of these subdirectories are specified by the variable ${CATEGORIES}. It is intended to make life easier for the user when he is wading through the pile of packages on the ftp site or the CD-ROM. Please take a look at the existing categories (some of them have different names from subdirectories of /usr/ports) and pick the ones that are suitable for your port. If your port truly belongs to something that is different from all the existing ones, you can even create a new category name.

If you want to add more information than just the category names, add them to ${KEYWORDS}. The value of this variable defaults to that of ${CATEGORIES}. This is currently used only as a field of the /usr/ports/INDEX file.

MASTER_SITES

If you have a ftp-URL pointing at the the original tarball, record the directory containing the tarball in ${MASTER_SITES}. This will provide a backup site, as well as a direct pointer to the original source location. Don't forget the trailing slash (/)!

The make macros will try to use this specification for grabbing the distribution file with ${NCFTP} if they can't find it already on the system.

It is recommended that you put multiple sites on this list, preferably from different continents. This will safeguard against wide-area network problems, and we are even planning to add support for automatically determining the closest master site and fetching from there!

PATCHFILES

If your port requires some additional patches that are available by ftp, set ${PATCHFILES} to the names of the files and ${PATCH_SITES} to the URL of the directory that contains them (the format is the same as ${MASTER_SITES}).

If the patch is not relative to the top of the source tree (i.e., ${WKRSRC}) because it contains some extra pathnames, set ${PATCH_DIST_STRIP} accordingly. For instance, if all the pathnames in the patch has an extra `foozolix-1.0/' in front of the filenames, then set `PATCH_DIST_STRIP=-p1'.

Don't worry if the patches are compressed, they will be decompressed automatically if the filenames end with `.gz' or `.Z'.

MAINTAINER

Set your mail-address here. Please. :)

Dependencies

Many ports depend on other ports. There are five variables that you can use to ensure that all the required bits will be on the user's machine.

LIB_DEPENDS

This variable specifies the shared libraries this port depends on. It is a list of `lib:dir' pairs where lib is the name of the shared library, and dir is the directory in which to find it in case it's not available. For example,

LIB_DEPENDS=    tcl\\.7\\.:${PORTSDIR}/lang/tcl
will check for a shared tcl library with major version 7, and descend into the lang/tcl subdirectory of your ports tree to build and install it if it's not found.

Note that the lib part is just an argument given to `ldconfig -r | grep', so periods should be escaped by two backslashes like in the example above.

RUN_DEPENDS

This variable specifies executables this port depends on during run-time. It is a list of `exec:dir' pairs where exec is the name of the executable, and dir is the directory in which to find it in case it's not available. For example,

RUN_DEPENDS=   wish:${PORTSDIR}/x11/tk
will check for an executable called `wish', and descend into the x11/tk subdirectory of your ports tree to build and install it if it's not found.

The dependency is checked from within the install target. Also, the name of the dependency is put in to the package so that pkg_add will automatically install it if it is not on the user's system.

BUILD_DEPENDS

This variable specifies executables this port requires to build. Like RUN_DEPENDS, it is a list of `exec:dir' pairs. For example,

BUILD_DEPENDS=   unzip:${PORTSDIR}/archivers/unzip
will check for an executable called `unzip', and descend into the archivers/unzip subdirectory of your ports tree to build and install it if it's not found.

Note that `build' here means everything from extracting to compilation. The dependency is checked from within the extract target.

FETCH_DEPENDS

This variable specifies executables this port requires to fetch. Like the previous two, it is a list of `exec:dir' pairs. For example,

FETCH_DEPENDS=   ncftp2:${PORTSDIR}/net/ncftp2
will check for an executable called `ncftp2', and descend into the net/ncftp2 subdirectory of your ports tree to build and install it if it's not found.

The dependency is checked from within the fetch target.

DEPENDS

If there is a dependency that doesn't fall into either of the above four categories, or your port requires to have the source of the other port extracted (i.e., having them installed is not enough), then use this variable. This is just a list of directories, as there is nothing to check, unlike the previous two.

Building mechanisms

If your package uses GNU make, set `USE_GMAKE=yes'. If your package uses GNU configure, set `GNU_CONFIGURE=yes'. If you want to override the default GNU configure arguments from `--prefix=${PREFIX}' to something else, set those arguments in ${CONFIGURE_ARGS}.

If your package uses imake (e.g. is an X application that has an Imakefile), then set `USE_IMAKE=yes'. This will cause the configure stage to automatically do an xmkmf -a. If the `-a' flag is a problem for your port, set `XMKMF=xmkmf'.

If your port's source Makefile has something else than `all' as the main build target, set ${ALL_TARGET} accordingly. Same goes for `install' and ${INSTALL_TARGET}.

NO_INSTALL_MANPAGES

If the port uses imake but doesn't understand the `install.man' target, `NO_INSTALL_MANPAGES=yes' should be set. In addition, the author of the original port should be shot.

17.2.5.5. Licensing Problems

Some software packages have restrictive licenses or are in violation to the law (PKP's patent on public key crypto, ITAR (export of crypto software) to name just two of them). What we can do with them vary a lot, depending on the exact wordings of the respective licenses.

Note that it is your responsibility as a porter to read the licensing terms of the software and make sure that the FreeBSD project won't held accountable of violating them by redistributing the source or compiled binaries either via ftp or CD-ROM. If in doubt, please contact ports@freebsd.org.

We usually get around this problem by setting ${NO_PACKAGE} in the Makefile, and not putting the distfile up for ftp. However, for most cases, you should at least be able to make a port, so don't let the license scare you away!

Note: The GNU General Public License (GPL), both version 1 and 2, shouldn't be a problem for ports.

Note: If you are a committer, make sure you update the ports/LEGAL file too.

17.2.5.6. * Upgrading

This section is still under construction, sorry.

17.2.5.7. Do's and Dont's

Here's a list of common do's and dont's that you encounter during the porting process.

WRKDIR

Don't leave anything valuable lying around in the `work' subdirectory, `make clean' will nuke it completely! If you need auxiliary files that aren't scripts or patches, put them in the subdirectory `files' and use the post-extract target to copy them to the `work' subdirectory.

Package information

Do install package information, i.e., the three files in pkg. Note that these files are not used only for packaging anymore, and are mandatory now, even if ${NO_PACKAGE} is set.

Compress manpages, strip binaries

Do compress manpages and strip binaries. If the original source already does that, fine; otherwise, you can add a post-install rule to do it yourself. Make sure that you check the variable NOMANCOMPRESS that the user can set in /etc/make.conf to disable man page compression. Here's an example:

 post-install:
	 strip ${PREFIX}/bin/xdl
 .if !defined(NOMANCOMPRESS)
	 gzip -9nf ${PREFIX}/man/man1/xdl.1
 .endif

Use the file command on the installed executable to check whether the binary is stripped or not. If it doesn't say `not stripped', it is stripped.

Custom utilities

Don't rely on custom utilities in your local configure script or anything -- they may not be there on the user's system! If you really need something else to be installed before you can work, detect this from your configure script, print a helpful message and exit with a non-zero status! At least you'll have given the user some idea of what's needed. If the custom utility or package is actually part of the ports tree, this should be dealt by the dependency mechanism of ports.

Actually, if this utility is not part of the ports tree you should probably make a port of this utility (this is how many of the ports made it into the tree!). Depending on something that is not part of the main FreeBSD distribution or the ports tree is a bad idea, and the user should be able to go to any subdirectory of /usr/ports and type `make' and have that port, as well as everything it requires, built automatically.

Feedback

Do send applicable changes/patches to the original author/maintainer for inclusion in next release of the code. This will only make your job that much easier for the next release.

RCS strings

Don't put RCS strings in patches. CVS will mangle them when we put the files into the ports tree, and when we check them out again, they will come out different and the patch will fail. RCS strings are surrounded by dollar (`$') signs, and typically start with `$Id' or `$RCS'.

Recursive diff

Using the recurse (`-r') option to diff to generate patches is fine, but please take a look at the resulting patches to make sure you don't have any unnecessary junk in there. In particular, diffs between two backup files, Makefiles when the port uses imake or GNU configure, etc., are unnecessary and should be deleted. Also, if you had to delete a file, then you can do it in the post-extract target rather than as part of the patch.

PREFIX

Do try to make your port install relative to ${PREFIX} in your Makefiles. This will normally be set to /usr/local, or /usr/X11R6 if ${USE_IMAKE} or ${USE_X11} is set, though it can be reassigned in your Makefile or in the users environment, if need be.

Not hard-coding /usr/local anywhere in your installation will make the port much more flexible and cater to the needs of other sites. Note that this doesn't count for package `packing list' files since they have their own scheme for relocating themselves and can be left independent of ${PREFIX} unless the package is one that hard-codes itself to a compiled-in location.

Subdirectories

Try to let the port put things in the right subdirectories of ${PREFIX}. Some ports lump everything and put it in the subdirectory with the port's name, which is incorrect. Also, many ports put everything except binaries, header files and manual pages in the a subdirectory of `lib', which does not bode well with the BSD paradigm. Many of the files should me moved to one of the following: `etc' (setup/configuration files), `libexec' (executables started internally), `sbin' (executables for superusers/managers) or `share' (architecture independent files). See hier(7) for details, the rule governing /usr pretty much applies to /usr/local too.

ldconfig

If your port installs a shared library, add a post-install target to your Makefile that runs `/sbin/ldconfig -m' on the directory where the new library is installed (usually ${PREFIX}/lib) to register it into the shared library cache.

Also, add an @exec line to your pkg/PLIST file so that a user who installed the package can start using the shared library immediately. This line should immediately follow the line for the shared library itself, as in:

lib/libtcl.so.7.3
@exec /sbin/ldconfig -m %D/lib

Note: the `-m' option is new since 2.0.5 and 2.1.0-950726-SNAP, so don't be alarmed if it doesn't work on your machine.

Never, ever, ever add a line that says `ldconfig' without any arguments to your Makefile or pkg/PLIST. This will reset the shared library cache to the contents of /usr/lib only, and will royally screw up the user's machine ("Help, xinit doesn't run anymore after I install this port!"). Anybody who does this will be shot and cut into 65,536 pieces by a rusty knife and have his liver chopped out by a bunch of crows and will eternally rot to death in the deepest bowels of hell (not necessarily in that order)....

If you are stuck....

Do look at existing examples and the bsd.port.mk file before asking us questions! ;)

Do ask us questions if you have any trouble! Don't just beat your head against a wall! :)

17.2.5.8. A Sample Makefile

Here is a sample Makefile that you can use to create a new port. Make sure you remove all the extra comments (ones between brackets)!

It is recommended that you follow this format (ordering of variables, etc.). Not all of the existing Makefiles are in this format (mostly old ones), but we are trying to uniformize how they look. This format is designed so that the most important information is easy to locate.

 [the header...just to make it easier for us to identify the ports]
 # New ports collection makefile for:	xdvi
 # Version required:	2.2 [things like "1.5alpha" are fine here too]
 # Date created:		26 May 1995
 [this is the person who did the original port to FreeBSD, in particular, the
  person who wrote this Makefile]
 # Whom:			Satoshi Asami <asami@FreeBSD.ORG>
 #
 # $Id: porting.sgml,v 1.11 1995/12/07 13:22:15 jkh Exp $
 [ ^^^^ don't worry about this...it will be automatically filled in by CVS when 
  it is committed to our repository]
 #
 
 [section to describe the package itself and main ftp site - DISTNAME
  is always first, followed by PKGNAME (if necessary), CATEGORIES,
  KEYWORDs (if necessary) and then MASTER_SITES, and optionally
  EXTRACT_SUFX or DISTFILES]
 DISTNAME=	xdvi
 PKGNAME=	xdvi-pl18
 CATEGORIES+=	printing
 [don't forget the trailing slash ("/")!]
 MASTER_SITES=	ftp://crl.dec.com/pub/X11/contrib/applications/
 [set this if the source is not in the standard ".tar.gz" form]
 EXTRACT_SUFX=	.tar.Z
 
 [section for distributed patches -- can be empty]
 PATCH_SITES=	ftp://ftp.sra.co.jp/pub/X11/japanese/
 PATCHFILES=	xdvi-18.patch1.gz xdvi-18.patch2.gz
 
 [maintainer; *mandatory*!  This is the person (preferably with commit
  privileges) who a user can contact for questions and bug reports - this
  person should be the porter or someone who can forward questions to the
  original porter reasonably promptly.  If you really don't want to have your
  address here, set it to "ports@FreeBSD.ORG".]
 MAINTAINER=	asami@FreeBSD.ORG
 
 [dependencies -- can be empty]
 RUN_DEPENDS=	gs:${PORTSDIR}/print/ghostscript
 LIB_DEPENDS=	Xpm\\.4\\.:${PORTSDIR}/graphics/xpm
 
 [this section is for other standard bsd.port.mk variables that don't belong to
  any of the above]
 [If it extracts to a directory other than ${DISTNAME}...]
 WRKSRC=		${WRKDIR}/xdvi-new
 [If it asks questions during configure, build, install...]
 IS_INTERACTIVE=	yes
 [If it requires "configure" in the distributed source directory to be run...]
 HAS_CONFIGURE=	yes
 [If it requires GNU make, not /usr/bin/make, to build...]
 USE_GMAKE=	yes
 [If it is an X application and requires "xmkmf -a" to be run...]
 USE_IMAKE=	yes
 [et cetera.]
 
 [non-standard variables to be used in the rules below]
 MY_FAVORITE_RESPONSE=	"yeah, right"
 
 [then the special rules, in the order they are called]
 pre-fetch:
	 i go fetch something, yeah
 
 post-patch:
	 i need to do something after patch, great
 
 pre-install:
	 and then some more stuff before installing, wow
 
 [and then the epilogue]
 .include <bsd.port.mk>

17.2.5.9. Package Names

The following are the conventions you should follow in naming your packages. This is to have our package directory easy to scan, as there are already lots and lots of packages and users are going to turn away if they hurt their eyes!

If your ${DISTNAME} does not look like `<name>-<version.string.numbers>', set ${PKGNAME} to something in that format.

  1. The `<name>' part should be all lowercases, except for a really large package (with lots of programs in it). Things like XFree86 (yes there really is a package of it, check it out) and ImageMagick fall into this category. Otherwise, convert the name (or at least the first letter) to lowercase. If the software in question really is called that way, you can have numbers, hyphens and underscores in the name too.

  2. The version string should be a period-separated list of integers and single lowercase alphabets. The only exception is the string `pl' (meaning `patchlevel'), which can be used only when there are no major and minor version numbers in the software.

Here are some (real) examples on how to convert a ${DISTNAME} into a suitable ${PKGNAME}:

DISTNAME	PKGNAME		Reason
mule-2.2.2	mule-2.2.2	no prob at all
XFree86-3.1.2	XFree86-3.1.2	ditto
EmiClock-1.0.2	emiclock-1.0.2	no uppercase names for single programs
gmod1.4		gmod-1.4	need hyphen after `<name>'
xmris.4.02	xmris-4.02	ditto
rdist-1.3alpha	rdist-1.3a	no strings like `alpha' allowed
es-0.9-beta1	es-0.9b1	ditto
v3.3beta021.src	jpeg-5a		what the heck was that anyway? ;)
tvtwm		tvtwm-pl11	version string always required
piewm		piewm-1.0	ditto
xvgr-2.10pl1	xvgr-2.10.1	`pl' allowed only when no maj/minor numbers

If there is absolutely no trace of version information in the original source and it is unlikely that the original author will ever release another version, just set the version string to `1.0' (like the piewm example above). Otherwise, ask the original author or use the date string (`yy.mm.dd') as the version.

17.2.5.10. That's It, Folks!

Boy, this sure was a long tutorial, wasn't it? Thanks for following us to here, really.

Well, now that you know how to do a port, let's go at it and convert everything in the world into ports! That is the easiest way to start contributing to the FreeBSD Project! :)


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