The difference between CygWin Ports and CygWin

cygwin;

I have been using CygWin for a few weeks, and I love it.
Now I have found CygWin Ports and, even after reading its main page, I am not sure about the differences:

  • Is CygWin Ports a collection of packages valids for my classical CygWin installation?
  • Why does de website says Use the latest Cygwin installers (at least version 2.829)? There is no such version.
  • What happens when a package conflicts (is in the CygWin repositories too)? Which one should I install?
  • Is it possible to download the CygWin Ports packages and manage them from local, just in the same way as I do with the pre-downloaded packages of the classical CygWin?
  • Will any addition to CygWin, for example SUDO for CygWin, work too with my installed packages of CygWin Ports?

Any other concise detail about the main difference(s) is welcome.

Best Answer

  • Cygwin Ports is a repository of software built on top of, and in addition to, those in the main Cygwin repository.
  • The version of the installers refers to the version displayed on the first page of the installer (e.g. Setup.exe version 2.844 (64 bit)); the latest version from http://cygwin.com is always recommended, but (currently) at least version 2.829 is absolutely required.
  • There are only a handful of conflicting packages; in each case, the Ports version is recommended over the standard distribution version.
  • Ports packages are downloaded with the same installer (albeit with specific installation directions) as the core distribution, so the same three options of Install from Internet, Download Without Installing, or Install from Local Directory are all available.
  • Any other software using dependencies from Ports should operate correctly, provided it does not attempt to conflict with Ports' packages. If you have specific issues, please provide details of your issue to the Cygwin Ports mailing list.
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