= !HaikuPorter =

== Introduction ==

!HaikuPorter is a command line Python application that, using the information contained in a !HaikuPort's BepFile:
 * fetches the original source code archive
 * extracts this archive
 * patches the sources for compilation on Haiku
 * builds the software
 * installs the software

Currently !HaikuPorter can not automatically resolve any dependencies. The !HaikuPorts project's main objective is the porting of software to Haiku, and not to create a package management system as powerful as Gentoo Portage or the FreeBSD ports system. Automatic dependency handling is therefor not high on the to-do list.

!HaikuPorter depends on two files:
 * [HaikuPortsConf /etc/HaikuPorts.conf] - contains global !HaikuPorts options (perhaps this should be moved to B_COMMON_SETTINGS_DIRECTORY?)
 * a BepFile - contains specific information about a !HaikuPort

== Requirements ==

!HaikuPorter is implemented in Python ([wiki:dev-lang/python]) which is included with the Haiku R1/Alpha1 release.

One of the goals of !HaikuPorter is to be as simple as possible. This includes minimizing dependence on external programs. Currently !HaikuPorter requires the following:

 * rm (included with Haiku)
 * tar (included with Haiku)
 * unzip (included with Haiku)
 * patch (included with Haiku)
 * any programs used for building and installing !HaikuPorts. These should be limited to:
   * GNU make (included with Haiku)
   * gcc-2.95.3 (included with Haiku)
   * CMake
   * others?

Other dependencies should be listed in the port's BepFile.

== Usage ==

'''WARNING''' - !HaikuPorter is currently in alpha stage. No one should be actually using it!

Usage information can be obtained by invoking !HaikuPorter with the {{{-h}}} option:

{{{
$ haikuporter -h
usage: haikuporter [options] portname[-portversion]

options:
  --version      show program's version number and exit
  -h, --help     show this help message and exit
  -p, --nopatch  don't patch the sources, just download and unpack
  -b, --nobuild  don't build the port, just download, unpack and patch
  -i, --install  also install the port (the default is to only build)
  -c, --clean    clean the working directory of the specified port
}}}

Note that this information may become obsolete as new versions of !HaikuPorter might add or remove command line options.

When passing only a port name to !HaikuPorter, it will return the port versions available, if any.

To fetch, patch and build a port, both the port name and the port version need to be specified, separated with a hyphen. By default, !HaikuPorter will not install the port. You need to specify the {{{--install}}} (or {{{-i}}}) option for that.