![]() The browser loads, which shows the options available for Fedora. I'm running Fedora, so I'll give it a try with: $ brew search -fedora tree It launches each operating system's repository list to a browser. There is a section in the output of brew search -help that shows flags to filter software by the operating system it runs on. The caveat is that not every formula will run on Linux. There are over 5,000 formulae to date, which is an incredible amount of software. You can see all formulae available using the search command, and adding the wc command shows how many are available: # -l counts the number of lines For example, the handy tree command that shows directory structures or pyenv, which I use to manage multiple versions of Python on a Mac. What kind of software? Think about the things that come in handy for nerds like me (and, since you're reading this, probably you, too). These package definitions are called "formulae," and they are compiled and shared through "bottles." There is a host of other beer-oriented terminology in the Homebrew universe, but the package manager's main takeaway is to make software easily accessible. You use the brew command to install any of the command-line utilities packaged up in Homebrew. Homebrew boasts of being an application that "installs the stuff you need that didn't" by default. Free online course: RHEL Technical Overview.It looks like my installation is working without any issues, so I'll explore a little more. To confirm the installation, the Homebrew team provides an empty hello formula for testing: $ brew install hello $ echo "eval \$($(brew -prefix)/bin/brew shellenv)" >~/.profile $ test -r ~/.bash_profile & echo "eval \$($(brew -prefix)/bin/brew shellenv)" >~/.bash_profile The Linux instructions include configurations for dotfiles, particularly ~/.profile on Debian systems and ~/.bash_profile on Fedora: $ test -d /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew & eval $(/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew shellenv) ![]() $ more homebrew_installer.sh # review the script until you feel comfortable If you are more cautious, you can curl the file, then run it manually after a review: $ curl -fsSL -output homebrew_installer.sh This command executes the Homebrew installer script immediately. If you want to give Homebrew a try, there is a great one-liner script to install it on Mac or Linux: $ /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL )" Suffice it to say, Homebrew is for experts and novices alike. It has options for ignoring or installing dependencies, choosing to build from source and with what compiler, and using exact upstream Git commits versus the official "bottled" version of the application. ![]() The list above is just 23 lines long, but the install subcommand has a whopping 79 lines of information available for the advanced user: $ brew -help | wc -l This short output might be mistaken as a limitation, but a quick look inside any of the subcommands reveals a wealth of functionality. Commands are well organized, as the default Help output shows: $ brew -h I'm already learning a lot as I transition to more open source alternatives for my past proprietary tools, and keeping something familiar-like Homebrew-helps me focus on learning one thing at a time instead of being overwhelmed by all the differences between operating systems.Īlso, I have yet to see a package manager that is as kind to the user as Homebrew. So why do I stick with Homebrew? First off, it's incredibly familiar to me. I have spent a decent amount of time using all these technologies, and I have to say each one is powerful in its own right. Debian-based systems already have apt, Fedora-systems have dnf and yum, and projects like Flatpak and AppImage work to span the gap by running smoothly on both. Why Homebrew on Linux?Ī reasonable first response to Homebrew from long-time Linux users is: "Why not just use…" where the next word is a package manager for their preferred version of Linux. Because I've been on a journey to migrate from Mac to Linux, I have been looking at how my favorite open source applications for macOS perform on Linux, and I've been happy to find that Homebrew's support for Linux truly shines. ![]() ![]() Its users quickly fell in love with its friendly interface and helpful prompts, and-in what may seem like a strange twist of fate-it got ported to Linux.Īt first, there were two separate projects for macOS and Linux (Homebrew and Linuxbrew), but now Homebrew's core manages both operating systems. The Homebrew project began its life as an unofficial Linux-style package manager for the Mac. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |