== Welcome to !BePorts ==

!BePorts is a centralized collection of software ported to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BeOS BeOS] / [http://haiku-os.org/ Haiku]. Each port contains the BeOS-specific patches to the original source code. The BePorter tool is provided to ease the fetching and patching of source code. Along with a [SubversionRepository Subversion repository] to store all patches, this Trac site eases cooperation on porting efforts. There is also a [MailingList mailing list] for the discussion of the project.

== Objective ==

The main objective of the !BePorts project is to centralize ports of software to the BeOS / Haiku. This avoids reinvention of the wheel when the person that ported the previous version of a software package didn't provide a patch and seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth.

Also, solutions to problems faced when porting one application can be valuable for porting another. For this purpose, the Trac tickets and the CommonProblems page can be consulted when facing problems. Moreover, the Subversion repository and the Trac site ease cooperation on porting efforts.

BePorter can be compared to a slim version of [http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/about.xml Gentoo Portage]. It fetches the original source code, applies the BeOS-specific patches, builds, and optionally installs the port. This package management aspect, however, is by no means the essence of the !BePorts project.

== Getting Started ==

To install the !BePorts system on your BeOS or Haiku installation, see [wiki:Installation].

For information on how to add a BePort to the tree, see AddingPorts.

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Information about [wiki:Trac].