Aug 022011
I promised I would say something on why I switched to Homebrew from Macports. Ted Wise has a good rundown. I was slightly annoyed when Macports started to pull in so many dependencies and do 45 minute builds – basically, it trusts nothing already installed on OSX. Although, depending on your needs, this may not be a bad thing.
My take on it:
- if you need a tool here and there that is missing on OS X, go with Homebrew.
- if you are doing hardcore open-source development, Macports is a more complete answer.
A couple industrial-strength tools from MacPorts:
- gcc_select, for when you want more than one gcc install
- the gnu Ada compiler, gnat-gcc. You definitely ain’t gonna find Ada in Homebrew.
