Ports Build Time

M

markbsd

Is there a database or even a thread of average/expected build times for individual ports (including build and run dependencies)?

This would be a really interesting data set. It may influence users' decisions to install packages or build ports. Or even to determine possible problems such as abnormally long build times.

I'm convinced something is wrong with either portmaster, or this install of FreeBSD; I've just reached 6.5 hours (and counting) of elapsed time building xfce4 using portmaster! Something has to be wrong! This cannot be normal.
 
Why 6.5 hours would be wrong instead of 10 minutes or 10 days? It all depends on your computer, the code being compiled, the dependencies… and over all, your patience and the expectations related to systems providing binary installs/updates!

Nothing is wrong with portmaster.
 
I think it is wrong because last time I ran make install clean from x11-wm/xfce4 it did not take even half as long. And it is on the same computer. My patience is running thin, but this doesn't change the fact that it's been over 6.5 hours to compile Xfce4 :)
 
ports-mgmt/portmaster will always install any dependent ports before installing the specified port.

If you are installing x11-wm/xfce without first having installed x11/xorg, then portmaster will have to install x11/xorg first, and that could take a couple to a few hours depending on the hardware. There is nothing wrong with ports-mgmt/portmaster.

If one's only interest is speed, then one should install packages because that is almost always faster then building ports.
 
x11/xorg was already installed, I did that overnight whilst sleeping so don't know how long that took, though it was running for at least a couple hours before I went to sleep. You must be right, using portmaster is in effect the same as make install anyway, right?

Speed isn't my only concern, but I am shocked at how long this is taking. I should have just went with openbox and customized my own desktop.
 
It's still furiously spewing out compiling nonsense. top shows nothing unusual; cc/make/gmake or similar, rc.conf options (ntpd, wpa_supplicant, powerd, etc), and a half dozen other basic activities (Sendmail, sh, cron, syslogd, etc).

I'm wondering if I've selected anything weighty in the config after running portmaster x11-wm/xfce4, but I really only selected maybe 4 or 5 things (which I can't even remember now).

Plus, this is a completely fresh install of the base system. I literally did a brand new install, ran:

Code: 
# portsnap fetch
# portsnap extract
# portsnap update
# portsnap fetch update

switched to PKGNG (then stupidly updated PKGNG when I already had the latest version!), installed portmaster, then ported xorg and now xfce4. The system has done nothing else at all.

Maybe I should abort it, run another clean install and start again?
 
Plus, from glancing at the screen from time-to-time, it appears to be installing a heap of junk I would have thought wasn't needed; gnutls, glib-networking, pkcs11, libsoup...

I mean, what the hell are these things?
 
As ports-mgmt/portmaster makes its way through the installation of the specified and all dependent ports, it will show its progress, e.g. 13/68, which means it is working on the 13th of 68 ports. That will give you an idea of how far along it is. Can you tell how far along the install it is?

You have to be quick to see this info, as it scrolls by pretty fast.
 
markbsd said:
Is there a database or even a thread of average/expected build times for individual ports (including build and run dependencies)?
Click to expand...
Maybe a subforum, with just threads each pertaining to a port, where users could post fixes/information. For example, pre-[cmd=] portmaster [/cmd] I ran ports with a script which left information in the port directory after a build:
/usr/ports/devel/boost-libs
5:54 - 6:36
18:00 - 21:10
12:29 - 13:00
I surmise it [threads] would be better to read through than a wiki. Don't know how easy it would be to have them all alphabetical, though, or some other schema. And may lessen the number of PR's sent.
 
Thanks, @trh411. I'll try to catch it. Is there not a command I can run from another terminal to get an indication?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wow! 73/210 -- this can't be right? WTF? Now 76/210! I feel like crying :( What the hell must I have selected to have over 200 ports? This is madness!
 
markbsd said:
Plus, from glancing at the screen from time-to-time, it appears to be installing a heap of junk I would have thought wasn't needed; gnutls, glib-networking, pkcs11, libsoup...

I mean, what the hell are these things?!
Click to expand...

They are either build or run-time dependencies required by x11-wm/xfce. Sometimes the most innocent looking port can pull in tons of dependencies when you build it. But that is one thing I like about using ports-mgmt/portmaster. It shows you everything it will install before it starts, giving you a chance to "opt-out" if you don't like it.
 
jb_fvwm2 said:
Maybe a subforum, with just threads each pertaining to a port, where users could post fixes/information. For example, pre-[cmd=] portmaster [/cmd] I ran ports with a script which left information in the port directory after a build:
/usr/ports/devel/boost-libs
5:54 - 6:36
18:00 - 21:10
12:29 - 13:00
I surmise it [threads] would be better to read through than a wiki. Don't know how easy it would be to have them all alphabetical, though, or some other schema. And may lessen the number of PR's sent.
Click to expand...

This is a really good idea!
 
markbsd said:
Wow! 73/210 -- this can't be right? WTF? Now 76/210! I feel like crying :( What the hell must I have selected to have over 200 ports? This is madness!
Click to expand...

When I ran through the pre-install check for x11-wm/xfce4 on my system, it showed 68 dependent ports would be installed. Since I have several hundred ports already installed, I'm guessing I had many of the dependent ports already installed. Since you are starting from a smaller base, it's got a lot to install.
 
trh411 said:
They are either build or run-time dependencies required by x11-wm/xfce. Sometimes the most innocent looking port can pull in tons of dependencies when you build it. But that is one thing I like about using ports-mgmt/portmaster. It shows you everything it will install before it starts, giving you a chance to "opt-out" if you don't like it.
Click to expand...

I think I've foolishly selected an innocuous looking "dev" option, which has now screwed me. I mean, Xfce4 only has 13 run-time dependencies, no way in hell there is ~200 build dependencies!
 
trh411 said:
When I ran through the pre-install check for x11-wm/xfce4 on my system, it showed 68 dependent ports would be installed. Since I have several hundred ports already installed, I'm guessing I had many of the dependent ports already installed. Since you are starting from a smaller base, it's got a lot to install.
Click to expand...

So it is entirely possible this is just normal and I haven't selected something I shouldn't have?

I've half a mind to abort this, reinstall FreeBSD, install xorg-minimal and start again :(

What a waste of an entire afternoon and night!
 
Thing is, I can't tell how long x11/xorg took as I went to sleep. It would be good to know if this is taking longer than xorg, because wouldn't you think xorg should take longer than xfce4?
 
I don't know. I'm sure I saw gcc -- or maybe it was cc1 -- in top so you may be right. Either way, it's now been 7 hours and it's only up to ~80 of the 200+. Only 80 dependencies installed in 7 hours is ridiculous! Now it's running python2.7 -- what the hell?

I either abort it right now and reinstall FreeBSD before going to sleep. Or, let it run and just go to sleep. By morning it will have to be finished and I can then delete x of the absurd 200 odd dependencies installed and get on with my life.

I can do a fresh install and start the xorg-minimal make install clean in around 30 minutes then go to bed, wake up and get openbox going. I can't decide!
 
Well, since you already have X installed, you might want to leave it as is and consider a more lightweight window manager instead of a full blown desktop like x11-wm/xfce.

You may be interested in the following thread from the Howtos Section of the forum which walks you through building a minimal desktop environment Minimal FreeBSD Desktop.
 
We still don't know how fast your computer is, or what the situation was. Did you start with no ports installed? Were there outdated packages installed? We know you had deleted build dependencies, so those have to be built.

So: stop. Take a deep breath. Don't obsess over the number of ports, it's not really indicative of anything. Many of the standard dependencies can take a while to build but then are mostly static. For example, gettext takes a while to build, but does not change often. So once it's installed, it does not need to be installed again.

Switch to another console and try ps axww | grep portmaster to see what it is doing. Or look in the compile output. Scroll Lock can be used to pause the output. When paused, the arrow keys and Page Up/Page Down can be used to scroll around.
 
markbsd said:
What the hell must I have selected to have over 200 ports??? This is madness!
Click to expand...
Have you ever seen the number of dependencies Xfce has?

markbsd said:
I've half a mind to abort this, reinstall FreeBSD, install xorg-minimalist and start again :(
Click to expand...
DON'T!!! This is totally unnecessary. What's wonderful about FreeBSD is that the base system and third-party ports are entirely separate entities.
You can get back to a clean install with 2 simple commands:
# rm -R /usr/local
# rm -R /var/db/pkg

markbsd said:
What a waste of an entire afternoon and night!
Click to expand...
"Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing." (Oscar Wilde)
"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." (Randy Pausch)

Stay positive ;)
 
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