FreeBSD6 Unleashed

Installing and Removing Ports

Let’s say that a port catches your eye and you decide you want to install it. Here’s where it gets fun. All you have to do is move into the port’s directory (using cd) and type make. This compiles the software. Then, you type make install to install it.

It’s a simple process on the surface, but there’s a lot that goes on under the hood. The make command actually executes a series of sequential make targets (described in Table 16.3). Each one depends on all the previous targets completing successfully. You can specify any of these targets directly; this will build all prerequisite targets up to and including the one you specify.

Table 16.3. The make Targets in a Port Makefile

Target	Action
fetch	Downloads the source tarball ...