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Updated the How things are going to be done page to include more of the PLFS hint's text.

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git-svn-id: http://svn.linuxfromscratch.org/LFS/trunk/BOOK@2804 4aa44e1e-78dd-0310-a6d2-fbcd4c07a689
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James Robertson 2003-09-14 03:09:34 +00:00
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chapter01/changelog.xml
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@ -87,6 +87,10 @@
</itemizedlist>
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>September 13th, 2003 [jwrober]: Updated the "How things are
going to be done" page to include more of the PLFS hint's
text.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>September 13th, 2003 [jwrober]: Merged whoread and whonotread
into a since audience page.</para></listitem>

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chapter01/how.xml
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<title>How things are going to be done</title>
<?dbhtml filename="how.html" dir="chapter01"?>
<para>You are going to build the LFS system by using a previously installed
Linux distribution such as Debian, Mandrake, Red Hat, etc.
The existing Linux system will be used as a starting point, because you
will need tools like a compiler, linker, text editor, and other development
tools to build the system. Ordinarily, the required tools are available by
default if you selected "development" as one of your installation options
when you installed your Linux distribution.</para>
<para>You are going to build your LFS system by using a previously installed
Linux distribution such as Debian, Mandrake, Red Hat, etc. The existing Linux
system (host) will be used as a starting point, because you will need programs
like a compiler, linker, text editor, and other development tools to build the
new system. Ordinarily, the required tools are available by default if you
selected <quote>development</quote> as one of your installation options when
you installed your Linux distribution.</para>
<para>After you have downloaded the packages that make up an LFS system,
you will create a new Linux native partition and filesystem. Here is where
the LFS system will be compiled and installed onto.</para>
<para>After you have downloaded the packages that make up a LFS system, you
will create a new Linux native partition and filesystem. This new Linux
partition and filesystem is where your new LFS system will be compiled and
installed onto.</para>
<para>The next step, Chapter 5, will discuss the installation of a number
of packages that will form the basic development suite which is used to
build the actual system. Some of these packages are needed to resolve
circular dependencies. For example, to compile a compiler you need a
<para>Chapter 5 will then discuss the installation of a number of packages that
will form the basic development suite (or toolset) which is used to build the
actual system in Chapter 6. Some of these packages are needed to resolve
circular dependencies. For example, to compile a compiler you need a
compiler.</para>
<para>The first thing to be done in Chapter 5 is build a first pass of the
toolchain, which is made up of Binutils and GCC. The programs from these
packages will be linked statically in order for them to be used independently
of the host system. The second thing to do is build Glibc, the C library.
Glibc will be built with the toolchain programs we just built in the first
<para>The first thing to be done in Chapter 5 is build a first pass of the
toolchain, which is made up of Binutils and GCC. The programs from these
packages will be linked statically in order for them to be used independently
of the host system. The second thing to do is build Glibc, the C library. Glibc
will be compiled by the toolchain programs we just built in the first
pass.</para>
<para>The next thing to do is build a second pass of the toolchain. This
time the toolchain will be dynamically linked against the newly built Glibc.
The remaining Chapter 5 packages are all built using this second pass
toolchain and dynamically linked against the new Glibc. When this is done,
the LFS installation process will no longer depend on the host distribution,
with the exception of the running kernel.</para>
<para>The third thing to do is build a second pass of the toolchain. This time
the toolchain will be dynamically linked against the newly built Glibc. The
remaining Chapter 5 packages are all built using this second pass toolchain and
dynamically linked against the new host independant Glibc. When this is done,
the LFS installation process will no longer depend on the host distribution,
with the exception of the running kernel. This is known as <quote>self
contained</quote> and <quote>self hosted</quote>. There is a discussion of the
differences between statically and dynamically linked programs at the beginning
of Chapter 5.</para>
<para>In Chapter 6 the real LFS system will be built. The
chroot (change root) program is used to enter a virtual environment and
start a new shell whose root directory will be set to the LFS partition.
This is very similar to rebooting and instructing the kernel to mount the
LFS partition as the root partition. The reason that you don't actually
reboot, but instead chroot, is that creating a bootable system requires
additional work which isn't necessary. As well, chrooting allows you
to continue using the host while LFS is being built. While software is
being installed you can simply switch to a different VC (Virtual Console)
or X desktop and continue using the computer as you normally would.</para>
<para>You may be asking yourself <quote>that seems like a lot of work, just to
get away from my host distribution</quote>. Let us take a few minutes to
discuss this question. The work involved in building the packages in Chapter 5
is to ensure that as little information from your host makes it into your new
pristine LFS system. When you build the first two packages in Chapter 5,
Binutils and GCC, they will be compiled statically. This means that the
version of the C library on your host distribution will be embedded inside all
the binary programs you just compiled. This will cause problems for you down
the road (they have been well documented). The host's Glibc is usually an
unknown quantity and can contain bugs or anything else we don't know about
until it is too late. A well known issue is that statically linked binaries
compiled on a Glibc-2.2.x based system that then contain calls to the
getpwuid() function crash when run on a glibc-2.3.x based system. You are
about to build a Glibc-2.3.x based system. You do not want to build something
that is going to crash do you? Finally, the Glibc Autoconf tests produce
different results depending on whether an existing Glibc is found on the host
distribution. This can lead to inconsistencies and encourages hacks and
workarounds. With all these things in mind, you can see that the extra effort
to compile Binutils and GCC twice is well worth it.</para>
<para>When all the software from Chapter 6 is installed, the temporary
tools built in Chapter 5 will be removed. Chapters 7, 8 and 9 will finalize
the installation. The bootscripts are setup in Chapter 7, the kernel and
boot loader are setup in Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 has some pointers to help
you after you finish with the book. Then, finally, you reboot the system
into the new LFS system.</para>
<para>In Chapter 6 your real LFS system will be built. The chroot (change root)
program is used to enter a virtual environment and start a new shell whose root
directory will be set to the LFS partition. This is very similar to rebooting
and instructing the kernel to mount the LFS partition as the root partition.
The reason that you don't actually reboot, but instead chroot, is that creating
a bootable system requires additional work which isn't necessary. As well,
chrooting allows you to continue using the host while LFS is being built.
While software is being installed you can simply switch to a different VC
(Virtual Console) or X desktop and continue using the computer as you normally
would.</para>
<para>This is the process in a nutshell. Detailed information on the steps
you will take are discussed in the chapters and package descriptions as you
progress through them. If something isn't completely clear now, don't
worry, everything will fall into place soon.</para>
<para>When all the software from Chapter 6 is installed, the temporary tools
built in Chapter 5 will be removed. Chapters 7, 8 and 9 will finalize the
installation. The bootscripts are setup in Chapter 7, the kernel and boot
loader are setup in Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 has some pointers to help you after
you finish with the book. Then, finally, you reboot your computer into your
new LFS system.</para>
<para>Please read Chapter 2 carefully as it explains a few important things
you should be aware of before you begin to work through Chapters 5 and
<para>This is the process in a nutshell. Detailed information on the steps you
will take are discussed in the chapters and package descriptions as you
progress through them. If something isn't completely clear now, don't worry,
everything will fall into place soon.</para>
<para>Please read Chapter 2 carefully as it explains a few important things you
should be aware of before you begin to work through Chapters 5 and
beyond.</para>
</sect1>