I recently got a MacBook Pro from work, and wanted to see how extensively I could get it to do the things I want to.
A lot of tools I like to use are from the Linux world, command line and peppered with dependencies. A lot of Linux distributions have package management systems, like RedHat/Fedora/CentOS use RPMs and yum, Debian (and derivatives like Ubuntu) use DEB and apt.
Mac has Fink and macports, but I’ve heard differing opinions on them. So when it came time to get something for myself, I decided to try an alternative called Homebrew.
Unfortunately, almost all of these solutions require you to download some 4GB of Apple’s Xcode software, and that means you have to register, etc. But once it’s done, it’s done.
Installing a new package is as simple as running:
brew install <packagename>
It figures out the heavy lifting stuff and Just Works.
Enjoy!