Starting from Python, numpy, scipy ... using homebrew you are always on the latest version without looking at several places. Same applies for node, java and many others. Of cause you can install everything on your own, manage updates and dependencies. But using homebrew makes life so much easier.
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Open Source Package Management Software Homebrew Gains Native Apple Silicon Support
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If you ever need to install mongo DB in a Catalina system so you can use Mongoose over NPM then this is the place to go.
If your area of use is well defined and well established, there is a good chance that you can use a streamlined package of some sort, in your case probably Anaconda. If you have to work with a plethora of different tools and framework, a general purpose package manager becomes a crucial tool.
Things I use homebrew for:
- various command line utilities, including my favorite shell, fish
- basic dependencies like Boost, image processing libraries etc.
- spatial processing libraries (computational geography and maps)
- Python, node, lua, gcc
Interesting. I do most of my Python ML work in google Colab, colab.research.google.com, these days. It's free online Jupyter Notebook. Also, since they give you access to GPUs for acceleration. just pip install as part of the notebook.
Tried homebrew years ago, but found it fought with packages installed via OSX and those installed via Homebrew. It was a bit confusing how to mix and match these, so I gave up.
That’s why I’m using MacPorts.
HomeBrew tried to do package management on macOS the way it’s done in Linux, but that’s not suitable for the system. MacPorts does it in a way that fits with the way macOS does things and without complications with system and apps from other sources.
The confusion of everyday users starts in the article itself, which strangely compares Homebrew to the MAS.
Putting aside the "cask" aspect, this is the tool where you install open source software, not in the traditional "Mac" directories, but rather into the hidden, underlying unix directories with the short funny names. All this stuff also requires dependencies, and brew figures that out too. It not related to MAS, but rather other Mac package managers like MacPorts and Fink, themselves sharing heritage with package managers in the unix/Linux world.
Putting aside the "cask" aspect, this is the tool where you install open source software, not in the traditional "Mac" directories, but rather into the hidden, underlying unix directories with the short funny names. All this stuff also requires dependencies, and brew figures that out too. It not related to MAS, but rather other Mac package managers like MacPorts and Fink, themselves sharing heritage with package managers in the unix/Linux world.
You're right its not a "must have" — provided that you don't care about your time.
I suspect you're conveniently forgetting the "bad old days" of manually finding and compiling a whole hierarchies of depencies on which the actual software you want is reliant. It could take hours in some instances. With brew (and macports, yum, apt, etc) it is seconds to minutes.
Furthermore; updates to these packages, controlled by your package manager, keep known security vulnerabilities off your system. You care about the security of your computer, yeah?
Wow. So your theory is that brew is some uniquely time saving solution for developers and anyone who doesn’t use it is clearly just wasting time?
ok then good luck with that theory. FYI it sounds pretty similar to how Windows PC users used to (and likely some still do) dismiss anything that isn’t windows as being incapable because they themselves didn’t use it or didn’t understand why someone else wouldn’t use what they do.
Why?
macOS survived for 17 years without shipping with any command line whatsoever (you basically only got a command line if you installed MPW). iOS doesn't ship with a command line either.
Arguably, your very use of the word "guts" means most people shouldn't have to deal with that.
An app store is basically a package manager with a focus on payments.
(Yeah, the App Store also doesn't handle dependencies, but other than that, it's quite similar: you install a bunch of stuff, and it centrally manages updates for it.)
OK, so you're arguing the semantics that there are 30% of developers who don't use a package manager and get by fine, and therefore, it's not technically a "must" have? Cool cool.
What developer at this point doesn't?
If you develop Mac/iOS apps, you will. If you develop .NET stuff, you will. Java, same. Python, same.
Even if you do only web development, you'll probably use a package manager like npm, and if anything, you won't have hundreds of dependencies, but rather tens of thousands.
I’m saying that brew is not a requirement to write/build software.
The phrase “must have” implies that it is a requirement.
Too often people overlook misuses of words. Words have meanings, but if we ignore those meanings why use words at all? Why not just grunt and assume the other party knows what we mean. At least both parties will know there is some guesswork intended.
What's MPW?
maOS ships with a full set of command-line utilities, most of which are the only way to completely administer the system. Tools like Disk Utility, Time Machine etc. are just wrappers over the underlying command line tools.
At the same time, users would benefit immensely from learning some basic command line, as it opens up completely new possibilities for them...
FYI there are a goodly number of developers who use Macs as a host OS, but install no libraries or languages or runtimes directly on said host, because it’s not the target environment.
And claiming that developers who use npm will install hundreds of libraries is like claiming that a person who sticks their head in a bucket of water is going to inhale a lot of water. The JavaScript community has fetishised the concept of libraries to the point that single-line logic (literally `variable % 2 === 0` - is the number even and thus leaves no remainder when divided by 2) become a library of its own, with dependencies of its own.
npm and “modern JavaScript” are not useful examples of anything except definitions for terms like “cargo cult”, “circle jerk” and “you couldn’t pay me enough to work with those people”.
Oh and how could I forget to ask: do you really think the world operates on just obj-c/swift, .net, Java and python?
I do not — I also (implicitly) brought up JS.
And yes, I'm aware COBOL developers exist; I personally know one. Is that the hill you're trying to climb on?
Because yes, the vast majority of software these days gets built with the help of package managers. Which is not to say you're a bad developer if you don't use one, but "must-have" is a perfectly valid way to describe them at this point.
You'll still likely install an SDK on the host.
(You seem to be bringing up more and more esoteric use cases here.)
So you agree that using libraries is common. Glad we got that settled.
Whether the npm ecosystem is healthy or not (it's not), it's a massive portion of today's developer workforce (and yes, plenty of those develop on a Mac), so whatever you're trying to argue here, it's working against you.
MPW is Macintosh Programmer's Workshop and is how developers got a command line in the Mac OS Classic days.
I'm not sure how this is relevant (we weren't discussing administering a system, were we?), but while Disk Utility does wrap around various tools like fsck, I don't believe Time Machine wraps around anything. There's tmutil, but the UI doesn't wrap around that.
Maybe.
Technically, it isn't, no.
No, it doesn't. A "must-have" isn't something that's literally required for your survival.
If you get so hung up on meanings, try a dictionary.
Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words
The world's leading online dictionary: English definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more. A trusted authority for 25+ years!
www.dictionary.com
"This cookbook is a must-have for chocolate lovers."
Do you think this example implies that, if you love chocolate, you will literally die without that cookbook?
I am not a native speaker, so my command of English is far from perfect, so I apologize if my language use rubbed you off the wrong way. I was under impression that “must have” is a commonly accepted colloquial expression expressing high (subjective) desirability and/or praise. If you take everything by it’s literal value, you won’t come far in communication (and I do have some authority in this topic after all, having authored a bunch of academic papers on semantics and pragmatics of human languages).
What I meant is that the inner workings of macOS are accessible from and in fact build upon its Unix nature. Starting from the program settings (defaults CLI) and the like.
I'm not disputing the usefulness of modern macOS's Unix underpinnings; I'm just saying a lot of people don't have to (and shouldn't have to) ever need to access them.