[Python-Dev] Automatic installer builds (was Re: Fwd: Broken link to download (Mac OS X))

[Stephen J. Turnbull]

Bill Janssen writes:

 > > Fink or MacPorts are often a practical necessity.
 > 
 > Fink is deadly, MacPorts much more benign, in my experience.  Which is
 > several years out-of-date, before I realized I didn't need either one of
 > them, and before the UNIX community started adding configure patches to
 > support OS X builds more widely.  Perhaps they've improved.

FWIW, I use MacPorts heavily, and it works fine for the most recent
release of Mac OS X which has been out for at least 6 months.  Bug
fixes for Snow Leopard in MacPorts are typically a matter of a handful
of hours, but many port maintainers don't have full-time access to
Leopard, and few will do more than pay lip service and help install a
patch if you have problems with Tiger.  IOW, the previous release
always has occasional glitches, and the second previous release is a
nightmare.  MacPorts is fine if you don't mind occasionally messing
with it and don't need to deal with Mac OS versions getting even
slightly long in the tooth.

 > In any case, they shouldn't be needed on buildbots maintained by
 > the PSF.

They should be avoided, as many users won't have them.  MacPorts and
presumably Fink have their own testing process, and the quality of
/opt/local/lib varies quite a bit.