Briefly, pkgsrc is quite similar to both, in that it allows you to build software easily from source.
This repository is a bulk build of all available packages in pkgsrc, so it gives you the option to install from binary packages instead of having to compile them from source. However, you still have the option to build from source if you prefer, or want to select different compile options from the defaults.
It also comes with 'pkgin' which is very similar to 'apt-get' and allows you to quickly search, install, upgrade and remove binary packages.
This is the same framework we use for SmartOS, so if you provision a SmartMachine from Joyent you get the same interface. pkgsrc is cross-platform, so you can use it on Linux, OSX, Solaris, *BSD .. or even more exotic systems such as Cygwin or Haiku.
If you have any comments/complaints I'd love to hear them, we want to provide excellent packages.
Could you maybe talk about how easy it is (or isn't) for J Random Developer to get Awesomesauce New Webscale Database packaged and into your repository? (cf Homebrew which is some git forkery, creating a worryingly simple config file, and a pull request)
They also did a Kickstarter a couple weeks back to finance the automation of the compilation process. [2]
[1]: https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/wiki/Bottles
[2]: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/homebrew/brew-test-bot
I'm slightly biased because I have known Mr Perkin for some time, but I could not be more delighted that there is a fresh attempt to get a binary package manager running on OSX, to sweep away the madness of MacPorts and Homebrew.
I rather suspect though that it will hinge on how easily people can get new software they want, included in the main repositories. That is the key advantage of homebrew, it's quick and easy to get software you want, being managed by it.
