Fink
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Screenshot of Fink running in Terminal
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| Stable release |
binary distribution 0.9.0 / June 26, 2008
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| Preview release |
source distribution 0.38.4 / February 9, 2015
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| Repository | github |
| Development status | Active |
| Written in | Perl |
| Operating system | macOS |
| Type | Package Management |
| License | GNU General Public License |
| Website | www |
The Fink project is an effort to port and package open-source Unix programs to macOS. Fink uses dpkg and APT (Debian's package management system), as well as its own frontend program, fink (which is implemented as a set of Perl modules).
Fink features a binary distribution for quick and easy installation using APT, as well as a more extensive source distribution. In addition to command-line tools for handling packages, the shareware app Phynchronicity provides a GUI.
Fink can be used to install newer versions of packages installed by macOS or to install packages not included in macOS by Apple edict. Fink stores all its data in the directory /sw by default (though this can be changed if initially compiling fink itself from source code). This goes against the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard's recommendation to use the /usr/local prefix; the reasons given in the Fink FAQ are that other installers might overwrite Fink's files under /usr/local, and that having an entirely separate directory makes it easier to disable the binaries and libraries that Fink installs. Within Fink's directory, a FHS-like layout (/sw/bin, /sw/include, /sw/lib, etc.) is used.
The Fink project was started in December 2000 by German hacker Christoph Pfisterer. The name Fink is German for finch and is a reference to the name of the macOS core, Darwin; Charles Darwin's study of diversity among finches led him eventually to the concept of natural selection.
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Wikipedia