Installing Linux applications on OS X with Fink

By Pavs

Even though OS X is a Unix based operating system, you can not just take a Unix/Linux application and run it on OS X, you have to port it on OS X in order for you to use it. Since most of these applications are open source – this can be achieved fairly easily. Fink is a project that recompiles existing open source software and ports it on OS X and makes them available through a package manager called “Fink”, which is similar to Synaptic Package Manager for Ubuntu. Fink has a huge collection of some 2500+ packages.

Configuring and installing packages with Fink:

• Download and install Fink.
• Copy FinkCommander.app from FinkCommander folder to Application folder.

• Now you will have to update sources and binaries. Update sources by going to Source –> Scanpackages from Fink, Index the source list with Source –> Utilities –> Index. Update binaries by going to Binary –> Update descriptions.
• Finally to install application select the application you want to install and go to Binary –> Install.

Fink works by downloading the original source, patch – configure and build the packages automatically and the dependency system makes sure that the required libraries are present during the installation.

Original here