How I install Fink from scratch

I posted this to the MacSIG list in response to a question. It seemed to be useful to the person who asked the question, so I’m preserving this for posterity here.

I use the “unstable” tree of Fink, and I had no problems
getting the g77 fortran compiler to install from source,
nor compiling some Fortran-based libraries (e.g. Cernlib).

If this is your first time installing fink, I suggest
re-starting from scratch: just delete the /sw directory.

Since you have Xcode, already, you will probably want to get
Apple's X Window software:

  http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/unix_open_source/xfree86.html

Note that there is a notice about XCode 1.5 being broken:

  http://fink.sourceforge.net/index.php?phpLang=en

and they show a couple of workarounds. I haven't run into problems,
but you may, depending on what you do with the C++ compiler. I've
chosen to ignore it.

Then, follow the instructions for installing Fink from source:

  http://fink.sourceforge.net/doc/users-guide/install.php?phpLang=en#src

After you get to the setup section:

  http://fink.sourceforge.net/doc/users-guide/install.php?phpLang=en#setup

don't do any package installations, yet. You will point Fink to
the “unstable” tree. Edit the /sw/etc/fink.conf file so that it looks
like the example I attached [attachment removed, Ed.], 
of course, making sure you have your login-name in place.

You should only have to modify the “Trees:” line to put “unstable/main”
as the first entry. (Delete the “local/main” -- those are packages that
you would be developing yourself.) So, it should look like:


  Trees: unstable/main unstable/crypto stable/main stable/crypto local/bootstrap

Don't modify the SelfUpdateMethod line.

Next, make fink use the CVS for the freshest sources. I have occasionally
found problems with packages that don't compile, but those are rare. At
the commandline, type the following (see man pages for fink and fink.conf):

  fink selfupdate-cvs

Then, update your fink index by doing:

  fink selfupdate

And make sure packages are updated by doing:

  fink update-all

If there are problems with downloading packages, try option (5)
when the prompt comes up. Option (5) is usually the link to the
latest version of the source which may not have been mirrored.
An example looks like this:

  Downloading the file “geant4.6.1.tar.gz” failed.

  (1)      Give up
  (2)      Retry the same mirror
  (3)      Retry another mirror from your country
  (4)      Retry another mirror
  (5)      Retry using original source URL

  How do you want to proceed? [3]

Now, to install packages. I avoid dselect and apt-get, because I've had
some trouble with them in the past (I forget what, exactly). Instead,
I always use the “fink” command:

  http://fink.sourceforge.net/doc/users-guide/packages.php?phpLang=en#src

The package you want is g77, so

  fink install g77

(You can see some Fortran-related packages by doing “fink list | grep -i fortran”.)

Listening to Velichit Dusha Moya Gospoda from the album “Vespers” by Sergei Rachmaninoff