In message <Pine.BSO.4.43.0211091606220.14460-100000@orca.close.wattle.id.au>, 
you write: 

[...]
-> I'm having trouble building certain patches from 'pkgsrc', for example
-> "sysutils/fam", apparently because 'configure' doesn't know about
-> "mipseb--netbsd"  when "checking host system type".
-> 
-> Can anyone recommend an appropriate fix?  I'm sure I can hack something
-> together but I'd rather do it the "Right Way".

I believe one of our fine pkgsrc folks (Amitai Schlair) put together some
code to allow the config.sub or config.guess (the bit of autoconf that maps 
the hardware into canonical GNU machine-vendor-OS typles and the bit that
guesses at those tuples from uname, etc. output, respectively).

See the CVS commit mail at:
	http://mail-index.netbsd.org/pkgsrc-changes/2002/07/16/0032.html

I meant to check out how much easier/saner this would allows package
builds on sgimips to become and how many packages would actually need
stuff like this, but never got around to it (this summer was a pretty
busy one and I haven't gotten enough round-tuits yet 8-).

The right place to ask these questions is probably tech-pkg@netbsd.org,
but I'd certainly welcome CC's to port-mips or port-sgimips, and if you
do have a go at this, I'd be curious as to the results... My guess is
that simply adding the CONFIG_SUB_OVERRIDE (and/or CONFIG_GUESS_OVERRIOE)
to the package Makefile should "make it go".

--rafal

----
Rafal Boni                                                     rafal@attbi.com
  We are all worms.  But I do believe I am a glowworm.  -- Winston Churchill