README

Generated from $Fink: readme.en.xml,v 1.12 2014/10/19 03:24:37 alexkhansen
Exp $

 Fink ReadMe
=============

This is Fink, a package management system that aims to bring the full world
of Open Source software to Darwin and Mac OS X.

With the help of dpkg, it maintains a separate directory hierarchy. It
downloads original source releases, patches them if necessary, configures
them for Darwin and compiles and installs them. The information about
available packages and the necessary patches (the "package descriptions")
are maintained separately, but are usually included with this distribution.
The actual source code is downloaded from the Internet as necessary.

Although Fink cannot be considered "mature" and it has some rough edges and
lacking features, it is successfully used by a large number of people.
Please read the instructions carefully and don't be surprised if something
doesn't work as expected. There are good explanations for most failures;
check the website if you need help.

Fink is released under the terms of the GNU General Public License. See the
file COPYING for details.


 Requirements
--------------
You need:

 * An installed Mac OS X system, version 10.7 or later.

 * The Xcode Command Line Tools are mandatory. This package can be installed
   either by downloading it directly via developer.apple.com/xcode/, or by
   running the

      xcode-select --install

   command and choosing the Install button in the window that pops up. You
   may also need to use this command to update the tools, especially if
   you're having build problems.

   If you're doing a manual download, make sure that the tools you install
   match your Mac OS X version as well as your Xcode app version (if that is
   present).

   You will need to accept the Xcode license as root. To do that, run

      sudo xcodebuild -license

   then scroll to the bottom of the text and type

      agree

   Some packages require the full Xcode.

 * Java. Entering

      javac

   from a Terminal.app window should suffice to make the system download it
   for you.

 * XQuartz to satisfy x11-dev build dependencies. This package can be installed
   by downloading it directly via https://xquartz.org.

 * Internet access. All source code is downloaded from mirror sites.

 * Patience. Compiling several big packages takes time. I'm talking hours or
   even days here.


 Installation
--------------
The installation process is described in detail in the file INSTALL. Please
read it first, the process is non-trivial. It also describes the upgrade
procedure.


 Using Fink
------------
The file USAGE describes how to set your paths and how to install and remove
packages. It also has a complete list of available commands.


 Further Questions?
--------------------
If the documentation included here doesn't answer your question, stroll over
to the Fink website at </> and check out the Help page there: </help/>. It
will point you at the other documentation that is available and sources for
support if you need it.

If you'd like to contribute to Fink, the Help page mentioned above also has
a list of things you can do, like testing or creating packages.


 Staying Informed
------------------
The project's website is at </>.

To be informed of new releases, go to
http://finkproject.org/lists/fink-announce.php [/lists/fink-announce.php]
and subscribe to the fink-announce mailing list. The list is moderated and
low-traffic.


EOF.