On Wed, 12 Sep 2001, Dave Huang wrote:

> "make install" in pkgsrc will download the source code for the program
> (and any dependencies) and compile and install it for you. "pkg_add"
> will install a package that someone else has compiled. In the end,
> assuming everything succeeded, you have the same result: the program
> is installed. "pkg_add" of precompiled packages is quicker and more
> convenient though, IMO. On the other hand, pkgsrc is updated more often,
> so it may have a more recent version of the program.

I want to mention the great pkgsrc feature of using a binary package if
available: the "bin-install" makefile target. I use it almost everytime
with pkgsrc.

You can receive more info in your pkgsrc/Packages.txt documentation file,
and in the packages(7) manual page. (Please note: it does a "make package"
if no binary is available.)

An example:

 make bin-install DEPENDS_TARGET=bin-install

   Jeremy C. Reed
   http://www.reedmedia.net/