lfs/part3intro/generalinstructions.xml

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<sect1 id="ch-tools-generalinstructions"
       xreflabel="General Compilation Instructions">
  <?dbhtml filename="generalinstructions.html"?>

  <title>General Compilation Instructions</title>

  <caution>
    <para>
      During a development cycle of LFS, the instructions in the book are
      often modified to adapt for a package update or take the advantage of
      new features from updated packages.  Mixing up the instructions of
      different versions of the LFS book can cause subtle breakages.  This
      kind of issue is generally a result from reusing some script created
      for a prior LFS release.  Such a reuse is strongly discouraged.  If
      you are reusing scripts for a prior LFS release for any reason, you'll
      need to be very careful to update the scripts to match current version
      of the LFS book.
    </para>
  </caution>

  <para>Here are some things you should know about building each package:</para>

  <itemizedlist>

  <listitem>
    <para>Several packages are patched before compilation, but only when
    the patch is needed to circumvent a problem. A patch is often needed in
    both the current and the following chapters, but sometimes, when the same package
    is built more than once, the patch is not needed right away.
    Therefore, do not be concerned if instructions for a downloaded patch seem
    to be missing.  Warning messages about <emphasis>offset</emphasis> or
    <emphasis>fuzz</emphasis> may also be encountered when applying a patch. Do
    not worry about these warnings; the patch was still successfully
    applied.</para>
  </listitem>

  <listitem>
    <para>During the compilation of most packages, some
    warnings will scroll by on the screen. These are normal and can safely be
    ignored.  These warnings are usually about
    deprecated, but not invalid, use of the C or C++ syntax. C standards change
    fairly often, and some packages have not yet been updated. This is not a
    serious problem, but it does cause the warnings to appear.</para>
  </listitem>

  <listitem>
    <para>Check one last time that the <envar>LFS</envar> environment variable
    is set up properly:</para>

<screen role="nodump"><userinput>echo $LFS</userinput></screen>

    <para>Make sure the output shows the path to the LFS partition's mount
    point, which is <filename class="directory">/mnt/lfs</filename>, using our
    example.</para>
  </listitem>

  <listitem>

    <para>Finally, two important items must be emphasized:</para>

    <important>

      <para>The build instructions assume that the <xref
      linkend='ch-partitioning-hostreqs'/>, including symbolic links, have
      been set properly:</para>

      <itemizedlist role='important'>

        <listitem override='bullet'><para><command>bash</command> is the shell
        in use.</para></listitem>

        <listitem override='bullet'><para><command>sh</command> is a symbolic
        link to <command>bash</command>.</para></listitem>

        <listitem override='bullet'><para><command>/usr/bin/awk</command> is a
        symbolic link to <command>gawk</command>.</para></listitem>

        <listitem override='bullet'><para><command>/usr/bin/yacc</command> is a
        symbolic link to <command>bison</command>, or to a small script that
        executes bison.</para></listitem>

      </itemizedlist>
    </important>

    <important>
      <para>Here is a synopsis of the build process.</para>

      <orderedlist numeration="arabic" spacing="compact">
        <listitem>
          <para>Place all the sources and patches in a directory that will be
          accessible from the chroot environment, such as
          <filename class="directory">/mnt/lfs/sources/</filename>.<!-- Do
          <emphasis>not</emphasis> put sources in
          <filename class="directory">/mnt/lfs/tools/</filename>. --></para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Change to the <filename class="directory">/mnt/lfs/sources/</filename> directory.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem id='buildinstr' xreflabel='Package build instructions'>
          <para>For each package:</para>
          <orderedlist numeration="loweralpha" spacing="compact">
            <listitem>
              <para>Using the <command>tar</command> program, extract the package
              to be built.  In <xref linkend="chapter-cross-tools"/> and
              <xref linkend="chapter-temporary-tools"/>, ensure you are
              the <emphasis>lfs</emphasis> user when extracting the package.</para>
            <para>Do not use any method except the <command>tar</command> command
              to extract the source code. Notably, using the <command>cp -R</command>
              command to copy the
              source code tree somewhere else can destroy
              timestamps in the source tree, and cause the build to fail.</para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>Change to the directory created when the package was
              extracted.</para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>Follow the instructions for building the package.</para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>Change back to the sources directory when the build is complete.</para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
              <para>Delete the extracted source directory unless instructed otherwise.</para>
            </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist>
    </important>
  </listitem>

  </itemizedlist>

</sect1>