prebuilt packages don't honour non-default applications_dir settings

[skymoo (Adam Mercer)]

In my macports.conf I have applications_dir set as /opt/local/Applications/MacPorts, however when installing python27, for example, the app bundles are installed in /Applications/MacPorts. I notice that the port is installed from a package and not built from source but shouldn't the final location honour the configuration options?

If the any of the paths are non-default should base force the ports to be built from source?

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

It would be nice if that restriction would only apply to ports actually using that particular variable. For example, just because I have a nonstandard applications_dir, shouldn't mean that I have to build zlib from source, since zlib doesn't have anything to do with applications_dir. I don't know how we would determine that beforehand however.

[mkae (Marko Käning)]

Cc Me!

[mkae (Marko Käning)]

I have another case in my setups over here: One MacPorts system has

${prefix}/Applications/MacPorts

another one has

${prefix}/Applications

defined.

The macports.conf man page states this:

     applications_dir
         Directory containing Applications installed from ports.
         Default: /Applications/MacPorts

but I am not sure that this is the current state, since the more recent installations I am using omit the "/MacPorts" subfolder when I start from scratch.

So, I guess, either the man page needs an update here, or I am simply wrong for some reason.

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

The default applications_dir is /Applications/MacPorts. Binaries use this applications_dir and do not honor any changes you've made to it.

Similarly with frameworks_dir. Binaries use the default (${prefix}/Library/Frameworks) and don't honor any changes you made.

[mkae (Marko Käning)]

OK, good to know that.

Verifying the method used to install my parallel MacPorts installations I finally found the culprit!

"MacPorts Guide" states

%% export PATH=/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin
%% MP_PREFIX=/opt/macports-test
%% ./configure --prefix=$MP_PREFIX --with-applications-dir=$MP_PREFIX/Applications
%% make
%% sudo make install

is the necessary command for configuring the port command build, but indeed the manual needs to be corrected here.

I just put it on my ToDo list now. :-)

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

Those instructions look correct. They're from the section ​Install Multiple MacPorts Copies. You wouldn't want a secondary MacPorts prefix to overlap the applications_dir of the first, therefore it shows using a different location for it.

Please, let's stop this discussion here. This ticket is only to address the issue that binaries do not respect applications_dir and frameworks_dir changes.

[jmroot (Joshua Root)]

r91009