Any risks using Macports?

Question

I'm considering installing MacPorts on my Mac so I can have easy access to *nix dev tools/apps. However, I'm wondering if there are any risks. I'm OK with the inevitable compatibility issue from time to time (hear Snow Leopard + MacPorts has issues) but I do not want the stability of my "core" Mac system to be affected. I'm also curious if MacPorts adds any significant security risks.

Appreciate the help!

Answer 1

MacPorts uses a totally different directory for its installs — /opt/local — than any normal program. I've never seen it affect the stability of a system (I'm not even sure how it would), and I've had it installed on many computers for several years.

Answer 2

I use Darvin/MacPorts for years now. I use them extensively. Abut once a year after a significant update ports break in a way that it is easier to delete them and start anew. So that is exactly what I do. I figure that spending 2-3 hours reinstalling them is good investment considering how much time ports save handling all open source software for me. Removing ports is not a trivial tasks though unless you use this command:

sudo rm -rf \
/opt/local \
/Applications/MacPorts \
/Applications/DarwinPorts \
/Library/Tcl/macports1.0 \
/Library/Tcl/darwinports1.0 \
/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.macports.\* \
/Library/StartupItems/DarwinPortsStartup \
/Library/Receipts/MacPorts*.pkg \
/Library/Receipts/DarwinPorts*.pkg 

Answer 3

MacPorts can play some funny games with your path variable, taking precedence over installed system programs that should have precedence. Stuff like python and ruby becomes kind of a mess, if there's anything that depends on some specific version. It's not typically permanent damage though. Most problems can be resolved by uninstalling macports, and reverting the path env variable.

Answer 4

Have you looked at the [rather long] list of tools included with the Xcode IDE? As of Snow Leopard, it includes gcc 4.0, 4,2, llvm-gcc, and Clang, for example.

When you do the installation of Xcode, there is an optional install that will populate many of the standard unix-y dev tools into /usr/bin/, etc... They are normally found in /Developer/bin/ since Xcode started to support the ability to move the dev tools.

Personally, I have a long background of Unix development, including cross-platform work, and had been an avid Fink, then MacPorts, user for years. When doing a clean install of Leopard, I never got around to installing Fink/MacPorts and haven't had a need to since.

Both MacPorts and Fink are awesome. If you do need various Unix-y goop, either one will do nicely. However, I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the fullness of Unix-y development potential that ships with Mac OS X.

(Sticking with the system tools provides a few additional advantages; your code is more accessible to others and the dev tools have been optimized / patched / fixed for optimum support of Mac OS X)

Answer 5

Its fine - I use MacPorts - it won't overwrite any of your existing apps in the Path. I've been using it for years. However, I did completely break my Mac Ports install - I now can't install or selfupdate. But its only stopped me from installing any new ports - it hasn't effected the stability of any existing ones.