The following sections provide basic instructions on using the ports collection to install or remove programs from your system. The Makefile contains various statements that specify how the application should be compiled and where it should be installed on your system A distinfo file. This file contains information about the files that must be downloaded to build the port, and checksums, to ensure that that files have not been corrupted during the download. A files directory. This directory contains patches to make the program compile and install on your FreeBSD system.
Patches are basically small files that specify changes to particular files.
This directory may also contain other files used in building the port. A pkg-comment file. This is a one-line description of the program. A pkg-descr file. This is a more detailed, often multiple-line, description of the program.