MacPorts Editor's Review

'MacPorts' (formerly known as DarwinPorts) is a package manager, which allows you to install various Open Source software products that are available for UNIX-like operating systems.

This manager is dedicated to the Darwin OS family. This family has three members: Darwin, OpenDarwin, and Mac OS X. The interesting part is the possibility to use it with Mac OS X.

We have in the download section two versions of this manager. The latest one, version 1.3.2, is available as source code, while 1.3.1 is available as a binary within an installation package. You can download the version that best suits your needs.

The available commands are easy to obtain if you type in the Terminal, the command port help. Some of the commands require root privileges. I think that you would mostly use the search 'port search package_name', install 'sudo port install package_name', and uninstall 'sudo port uninstall package_name' commands. Check the MacPorts documentation in order to understand how to use this manager properly.

Pluses: it allows you to use Open Source applications that are available for Unix-like operating systems. It solves the dependencies automatically.

Drawbacks / flaws:

In conclusion: you should install it, if you need a program that is available for BSD or Linux users and that has a port for MacPorts. There are over 3000 software ports available.

version reviewed: 1.3.2