mirror of https://github.com/tLDP/LDP
71 lines
3.9 KiB
XML
71 lines
3.9 KiB
XML
<sect1 id="ch01-how">
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<title>How things are going to be done</title>
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<?dbhtml filename="how.html" dir="chapter01"?>
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<para>You are going to build your LFS system by using a previously installed
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Linux distribution (such as Debian, Mandrake, Red Hat, or SuSE). This existing
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Linux system (the host) will be used as a starting point, because you will need
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programs like a compiler, linker and shell to build the new system. Normally
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all the required tools are available if you selected <quote>development</quote>
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as one of the options when you installed your distribution.</para>
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<para>In <xref linkend="chapter03"/> you will first create a new Linux native
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partition and file system, the place where your new LFS system will be compiled
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and installed. Then in <xref linkend="chapter04"/> you download all the
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packages and patches required to build an LFS system, and store them on the new
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file system.</para>
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<para><xref linkend="chapter05"/> then discusses the installation of a number
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of packages that will form the basic development suite (or toolchain) which is
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used to build the actual system in <xref linkend="chapter06"/>. Some of these
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packages are needed to resolve circular dependencies -- for example, to compile
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a compiler you need a compiler.</para>
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<para>The first thing to be done in <xref linkend="chapter05"/> is build a
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first pass of the toolchain, made up of Binutils and GCC. The programs from
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these packages will be linked statically in order for them to be usable
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independently of the host system. The second thing to do is build Glibc, the
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C library. Glibc will be compiled by the toolchain programs we just built in
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the first pass. The third thing to do is build a second pass of the toolchain.
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This time the toolchain will be dynamically linked against the newly built
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Glibc. The remaining <xref linkend="chapter05"/> packages are all built using
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this second pass toolchain and dynamically linked against the new
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host-independent Glibc. When this is done, the LFS installation process will no
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longer depend on the host distribution, with the exception of the running
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kernel.</para>
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<para>You may be thinking that <quote>this seems like a lot of work, just to
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get away from my host distribution</quote>. Well, a full technical explanation
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is provided at the start of <xref linkend="chapter05"/>, including some notes
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on the differences between statically and dynamically linked programs.</para>
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<para>In <xref linkend="chapter06"/> your real LFS system will be built. The
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chroot (change root) program is used to enter a virtual environment and start
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a new shell whose root directory will be set to the LFS partition. This is very
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similar to rebooting and instructing the kernel to mount the LFS partition as
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the root partition. The reason that you don't actually reboot, but instead
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chroot, is that creating a bootable system requires additional work which isn't
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necessary just yet. But the major advantage is that chrooting allows you to
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continue using the host while LFS is being built. While waiting for package
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compilation to complete, you can simply switch to a different VC (Virtual
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Console) or X desktop and continue using the computer as you normally
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would.</para>
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<para>To finish the installation, the bootscripts are set up in
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<xref linkend="chapter07"/>, the kernel and bootloader are set up in
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<xref linkend="chapter08"/>, and <xref linkend="chapter09"/> contains some
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pointers to help you after you finish the book. Then, finally, you're ready to
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reboot your computer into your new LFS system.</para>
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<para>This is the process in a nutshell. Detailed information on the steps you
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will take are discussed in the chapters and package descriptions as you
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progress through them. If something isn't completely clear now, don't worry,
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everything will fall into place soon.</para>
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<para>Please read <xref linkend="chapter02"/> carefully as it explains a few
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important things you should be aware of before you begin to work through
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<xref linkend="chapter05"/> and beyond.</para>
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</sect1>
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