%general-entities; ]> The LFS system will be built by using an existing running Linux distribution (such as Debian, Mandrake, Red Hat, or SuSE). This existing Linux system (the host) will be used as a starting point to provide necessary programs, including a compiler, linker, and shell, to build the new system. Select the development option during the distribution installation to be able to access these tools. As an alternative to installing an entire separate distribution onto your machine, you may wish to use the Linux From Scratch LiveCD. The CD works well as a host system, providing all the tools you need to successfully follow the instructions in this book. Additionally, it contains all the source packages, patches and a copy of this book. So once you have the CD, no network connection or additional downloads are necessary. For more information about the LFS LiveCD or to download a copy, visit of this book describes how to create a new Linux native partition and file system, the place where the new LFS system will be compiled and installed. explains which packages and patches need to be downloaded to build an LFS system and how to store them on the new file system. discusses the setup for an appropriate work environment. Please read carefully as it explains several important issues the developer should be aware of before beginning to work through and beyond. explains the installation of a number of packages that will form the basic development suite (or toolchain) which is used to build the actual system in . Some of these packages are needed to resolve circular dependencies—for example, to compile a compiler, you need a compiler. also shows the user how to build a first pass of the toolchain, including Binutils and GCC (first pass basically means these two core packages will be re-installed a second time). The next step is to build Glibc, the C library. Glibc will be compiled by the toolchain programs built in the first pass. Then, a second pass of the toolchain will be built. This time, the toolchain will be dynamically linked against the newly built Glibc. The remaining packages are built using this second pass toolchain. When this is done, the LFS installation process will no longer depend on the host distribution, with the exception of the running kernel. While this may initially seem like a lot of work to get away from a host distribution, a full technical explanation is provided at the beginning of . In , the full LFS system is 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 system does not actually reboot, but instead chroots because creating a bootable system requires additional work which is not necessary just yet. The major advantage is that chrooting allows the builder to continue using the host while LFS is being built. While waiting for package compilation to complete, a user can switch to a different virtual console (VC) or X desktop and continue using the computer as normal. To finish the installation, the bootscripts are set up in , and the kernel and boot loader are set up in . contains information on furthering the LFS experience beyond this book. After the steps in this book have been implemented, the computer will be ready to reboot into the new LFS system. This is the process in a nutshell. Detailed information on each step is discussed in the following chapters and package descriptions. Items that may seem complicated will be clarified, and everything will fall into place as the developer embarks on the LFS adventure.