About Linux From scratch

[Ozzi]

Hi. I've been a linux user for about 5 months now. I've been through fedora 6, Ubuntu Edgy and Feisty and Debian Etch. I can say I've learned the basics, but I don't consider myself an expert.

I was thinking of trying out LFS to learn more about how linux works. The thing is I'm about to lose my internet connection for about 3 months as I head home for the hollidays so I can't search on any of the problems I might have on Google or the forums.

So what I'm asking is if the manual provided on their site is enough to create a working system and, more of the point, to get some insights on the little wheels that make the system run as it does, without additional information.

Thanks in advance.

[smolloy]

I'd say yes, but it's not guaranteed.

You'll have to make sure to download all the source code for everything you need to compile in advance, and it would be easy to miss something.

One thing to keep in mind is that LFS provides a working operating system, but with no window manager, or any of the other goodies that normally come with operating systems. For that you'll need to turn to Beyond Linux From Scratch.

I've gone through both LFS and BLFS, and it taught me an awful lot about Linux. I had a couple of problems that I had to post on forums, but to be honest I never got an answer, and I always found that it was due to a mistake I'd made earlier on in the process.

Good luck!

[Ozzi]

Thanks for your quick response.

I don't exactly know wich packages I'm going to need so i think I'm going to download them all.

I also have a Slackware 11.0 DVD iso wich also contains a lot of source packages.Would there be any major problems if I try to use some of those instead in case I need them?

I noticed they recommend their own versions, but the slackware ones are a bit older, so I figure they should be backward compatible.

[smolloy]

I don't exactly know wich packages I'm going to need so i think I'm going to download them all.

It looks like it's possible to get tarballs of all the packages, so this should be easier than I thought. There's also a link to all the patches you need from the download page.

I also have a Slackware 11.0 DVD iso wich also contains a lot of source packages.Would there be any major problems if I try to use some of those instead in case I need them?

I noticed they recommend their own versions, but the slackware ones are a bit older, so I figure they should be backward compatible.

From this link it seems that that isn't recommended for a first-timer, but you could try it.

[smolloy]

Also I found this on the download page

LiveCD

The download locations for the official LFS LiveCD are available on the LFS LiveCD download page. The packages for the stable book are included in the LiveCD and therefore don't need to be downloaded separately.

Maybe that's your best option.

[Ozzi]

Thanks, I'm downloading the LiveCD now.

I'm also going to keep the slackware iso too. Maybe after I go through all the steps I'm going to have enough experience to fool around with them .

One more thing: is there any way to automate the download of the source packages of the BLFS project? They don't have a compact way of doing it and there are a lot of packages to download by hand.

I've tried wget <path>/* and it din't work (error 404). If i try to leave a space before '*' it only downloads the index.html.

LE: Found it (long live the man pages )

[smolloy]

Found it (long live the man pages )

Good luck with LFS! Hopefully it'll be a lot of fun.

[krj15489]

i am also trying to build a lfs system. i have already compiled the first package binutils but that is as far as i can go at the moment because the next package gcc needs to be patched . i am confused about how i patch the source files. what command do i use to patch and do i patch the tar ball or the unpacked code?

[smolloy]

i am confused about how i patch the source files. what command do i use to patch and do i patch the tar ball or the unpacked code?

I thought the instructions in the book were clear. I seem to remember it giving you the exact commands you need to enter for each step.

[krj15489]

ok then i guess i missed that part. i will look through it agian