$Id$
1. INTRODUCTION::
This collection of scripts, known as jhalfs, strives to create
accurate makefiles from the Linux From Scratch book series XML files.
This software is an evolution of the original "jhalfs-0.2" code developed
by Jeremy Huntwork.
The usage of this script assumes you have read and are familiar with
the book(s) and, therefore, the configuration variables found in menuconfig
interface will have meaning to you.
The list of supported books can be found at
http://wiki.linuxfromscratch.org/alfs/wiki/SupportedBooks
NOTES::
*. The resulting Makefile takes considerable time to run to completion.
Lay in a supply of caffeine beverages.
*. It is recommended that you temporarily unpack your linux kernel,
run <make menuconfig>, configure the kernel as per the book and save
the resulting .config file. This suggestion also applies to the
configuration of the uClibc package when building a HLFS system using
uClibc rather than glibc.
*. Read carefully this file and the other README.* files before start
using the tool.
2. PREREQUISITES::
To use this tool you MUST:
- have experience building {c,h,b}LFS packages
- know how to edit and write shell scripts
- know how a Makefile works
- be able to trace build failures and to find what is causing it
(user error, package bug, {c,h,b}LFS command bug, or jhalfs code bug)
If you do not have the above skills, please don't use this tool.
3. INSTALLATION::
No installation is required. System-wide installation is not allowed.
4. CONFIGURATION::
We have installed the familiar menu based configuration tool driven by
GNU make. see the section RUNNING, for details
5. RUNNING::
The command <make> will launch a menu based configuration program. You will
recognize the layout from building the kernel or uClibc/BusyBox. The
underlying menu code was borrowed from BusyBox and slightly modified for
our use.
Help on parameter function is available from the on-line help. Please
make use of that feature for additional information not in this file.
Once you have set the parameters you wish and have saved your work the
jhalfs script is launch. The script verify first that the host can run
it and build the xLFS system, then validate the configuration and present
you with your selections which you may accept or reject.
If you accepted the displayed settings jhalfs will proceed to create the
Makefile, optionally download packages.
IMPORTANT::
You must be logged as a normal user with sudo privileges to run
the Makefile. Furthermore, you are supposed to have enough privilege
to become any user. If you are not bothered about security issues,
the entry for the user "jhalfs_user" in /etc/sudoers could be
jhalfs_user ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL
NOTE::
If you run the jhalfs script directly the only function you can select
is to display the version number running <./jhalfs -v>
6. BLFS_TOOL SUPPORT::
For books that support it (As of March 8, 2012, works only with LFS),
there is an option to install an automated framework for building BLFS
packages. it is called blfs-tool. When you tick `BOOK Settings/Add
blfs-tool support' in jhalfs configuration menu, the tools are
installed in $BLFS_ROOT (default /blfs_root) on the xLFS system,
and a few dependencies (which you may select) are built at the
end of the jhalfs run, before the custom tools. The instructions for
building the dependencies are taken from the BLFS book.
(TODO: blfs-tools have not been tested with current (version 3.0) CLFS,
and certianly need some adaptation to run)
WARNING:: If you add blfs-tool support on a CLFS Sysroot build
you MUST edit the scripts to fix the installation paths.
After booting the new xLFS system some steps are needed to finish
the installation of the automated tools:
- A user account must be created. You must be logged on that user
account to use blfs-tool. This is not strictly necessary,
since the packages can be built as root, too, but it is
never a good idea to build packages as root.
- Move /blfs-root to that user's home and change ownership of the
directory and files to the user.
- Give the user read and write privileges over the $TRACKING_DIR
directory and the files that it contains.
- Configure sudo, adding the needed privileges for the user. For
newer sudo version, do not forget to add a line Defaults secure_path=
containing /sbin and /usr/sbin (in /etc/sudoers), otherwise some
executables are not found.
- Although it is not strictly necessary, it is recommended to install
the bash shell startup files (as per `3.After LFS Configuration
Issues' of the BLFS book), as some instructions in BLFS rely on
their being present.
We assume that blfs-tool will be used on a running fresh xLFS system.
To use it to build BLFS packages from the chroot jail is also possible,
but not supported.
To know how to use blfs-tool, see README.BLFS.
7. LAYOUT::
/BLFS (see README.BLFS)
/CLFS/master.sh
/clfs.xsl
/CLFS2/master.sh
/clfs2.xsl
/CLFS3/master.sh
/clfs3.xsl
/HLFS/master.sh
/hlfs.xsl
/LFS/master.sh
/lfs.xsl
/common/common_functions
/makefile_functions
/packages.xsl
/urls.xsl
/create-sbu_du-report.sh
/progress_bar.sh
/blfs-tool-deps/9xx-*
/libs/func_*
/custom/template
/config/
/examples/*
/examples_CLFS-E/*
/extras/do_copy_files
/do_ica_prep
/do_ica_work
/farce
/filelist
/optimize/opt_config
/opt_override
/optimize_functions
/opt_config.d/noOpt
/noSymbols
/O3pipe
/O3pipe_march
/defOpt_fPIC
/menu/*
README
README.BLFS
README.CLFS
README.HLFS
README.CUSTOM
TODO
LICENSE
Config.in
Makefile
jhalfs
blfs-tool
8. FAQ::
Q. "This 'help' file is very sparse"
A. Yes, it is. This tool, jhalfs, is for those who understand the LFS books
and wish to automate the build. 99% of any problems that arise can be
solved by reading the book(s).
Q. "It doesn't work!"
A. Yes it does, try >> make
Remember you must have 'sudo' privileges.
Q. "It still doesn't work"
A. jhalfs was designed to work against the development versions of the LFS
series of books. Consequently changes in a book(s) sometimes breaks older
versions of jhalfs. Before you start pulling out your hair download the
latest version of jhalfs to see if that solves your problem.
Q. "How do I specify the build location?"
A. The original LFS document worked against the well known location
/mnt/lfs. This script automates the build of all of the LFS series of
books and uses a generic location $BUILDDIR with a default value of
/mnt/build_dir. You may change this value to suit your needs.
The layout below $BUILDDIR is as follows.
$BUILDDIR/
jhalfs (Makefile, cmd scripts, logs, etc..)
sources (where packages reside)
tools (temporary bootstrap system)
cross-tools (temporary CLFS only)
...
FHS dir structure
...
blfs_root (files to use blfs-tool if selected to install it)
Q. "What is the function of the SRC_ARCHIVE variable?"
A. When jhalfs runs and packages download was selected, it creates a local
copy of the necessary packages in BUILDDIR/sources by downloading the
files. If the variable SRC_ARCHIVE is defined the software will first
look in this location for the file and, if found, will copy it to
BUILDDIR/sources.
If the files are not found in SRC_ARCHIVE _and_ you have write priv to
the directory any downloaded files will be mirrored there.
Q. "How do I set the SRC_ARCHIVE location?"
A. The best way to set the value of SRC_ARCHIVE is
export SRC_ARCHIVE=/wherever/you/store/downloaded/packages
or you can set the full path in the proper menu entry.
Q. "Why have 2 copies of the files?"
A. The package files must be visible during the chroot phase and this is a
simple and reliable method of doing so. This method also handles the
CLFS boot build method where the final build may be done on a separate
machine.
Q. "What is the function of "User account" and "Group account" menu
settings?"
A. If you are running jhalfs from a low or non-privileged account you may
not have the priv to create/delete the user needed to build temporary
tools.
These settings allow you to use your own user and group name to do those
build steps.
These variables are adjustable also when invoking make:
$BUILDDIR make LUSER=myaccount LGROUP=mygroup
The only changes to your account will be the creation of a NEW .bashrc
after saving your original to .bashrc.XXX
Q. "When I try to build CLFS the Makefile fails at the mid-point"
A. There could be numerous reasons for the failure but the most likely
reason is you are doing a cross-build using the 'chroot' method and the
target is not compatible with the host. If you choose to build using
the chroot method a test is performed at the end of the temptools
phase. If the test succeeds the build continues inside a chroot jail.
However if the test fails, it means the host and target are not
compatible an you should use the 'boot' method to create your target
code.
As an extreme example: You can build a sparc target on a x86 platform but
only the temptools phase. You must select the 'boot' method and not the
'chroot.' You must transfer the toolchain to a sparc platform, reboot the
sparc box and continue the build.
Of all the LFS series of books Cross-LFS requires the greatest
understanding of host/target hardware combination. Please read the book
carefully and don't skip the easy parts (there are none...)
Q. "How could I stop the build at a predefined chosen point?"
A. Launch the Makefile manually passing the last numbered target to be build
as the break point. For example:
make BREAKPOINT=84-bash
The build can be stopped also at the end of a top-level build phase by
calling directly the appropriate mk_* target. For example:
make mk_LUSER
See the Makefile to know the proper target names for that book build.
Authors:
George Boudreau
Manuel Canales Esparcia
Pierre Labastie
