That being said, if debian can do it for around 30,000 packages on almost as many architectures as OSX has mere hardware models, why can't OSX do it? With all the app stores and cloud services, Apple is big on 'quite a bit of infrastructure'.
Because Apple don't provide these package management tools, volunteering third-parties do.
Apple are never going to provide Linux-style package management tools because the market for them is minuscule compared to Apple's real market: normal people. For normal people, there's the App Store.
Developers aren't "normal people" then? If that's seriously the attitude Apple takes towards its developer community ("no, we won't give you the software you need, get it from the crappy community projects") then why do you put up with it?
It seems like the OP's point is pretty valid to me. I use an OS that gives me what I need to do my job.
No. They aren't. Developers have needs far greater than that of your average everyday user. Apple sells a machine that is the best possible for the greatest number of users, and doesn't really cater to niche markets. I don't get what's surprising about this.
Because even developers do "normal people" things. There are a lot of trade offs, but in my experience Apple provides the best middle-of-the-road machines.
Linux and Windows feel like they exist on opposite ends of the spectrum.
It may not have started out that way (but it may have, I'm not sure), but MacPorts is an Apple hosted project: http://www.macosforge.org/
What they don't host is the source or compiled versions of any of the packages in the MacPorts repository - potentially for the same reason they include no GPLv3 software in their OS.
In some cases, they do. This is especially apparent if you're still using MacPort with PPC, as most of the packages it pulls down are form the MacPorts servers.
while I agree, the point is moot as this talks about developers. So yes, apple did not make a package management tool. That pisses developers off. Makes no difference because you suck it up if you want to develop for mac/ios.
Its kind of like developing on windows, for windows, gota do what u gotta do.
