[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: [ Re: LT WinModem and kernel headers]



On Mon, Aug 13, 2001 at 03:11:43AM -0700, Paul Scott wrote:
> Nathan E Norman wrote:
> 
> >On Sun, Aug 12, 2001 at 02:04:24PM -0700, Paul Scott wrote:
> >
> >>>[1] /usr/src has even been deprecated AFAIK.
> >>>
> >>Please post anything you know about this.  The Filesystem Hierarechy 
> >>Standard doesn't mention this.
> >>
> >
> >He simply means that you aren't [0] supposed to compile kernels
> >there.
> 
> 
> I understand compiling and the files involved but I don't yet know where 
> all these files go during a kernel compilation.  Doesn't "apt-get 
> install" put kernel sources in subdirectories of /usr/src ?  I guess 
> this is what you mean with your next sentence?

Not really.  What happens when you install the debian
kernel-source-blabla package is a bzipped tarball appears in /usr/src.
Most people then unpack said tarball in /usr/src (creating a directory
/usr/src/kernel-source-blabla), but there's no requirement that you
unpack in /usr/src.
 
In fact, there's no requirement that you use the debian packaged
kernel source ... tarballs from kernel.org are just as valid.  Again,
where you unpack and build them is your choice.

> >/usr/src is under control of the packaging system, so if it were to
> >blow away your source tree you shouldn't be surprised. 
> 
> If I modify the sources and then reinstall them of course I would be in 
> trouble?

No ... think of it this way:

/usr/local/src or /home will never be altered by dpkg.  Anything you
put there will remain there barring disaster or user error.

OTOH, /usr/src _is_ a candidate for alteration by dpkg.  Someone could
devise a diabolical package which finds all the
/usr/src/kernel-source-blabla directories and removes them.  This has
never happened, and I don't see any reason why it should, but why
tempt fate?  Don't put things in directories controlled by dpkg :)

-- 
Nathan Norman - Staff Engineer | A good plan today is better
Micromuse Ltd.                 | than a perfect plan tomorrow.
mailto:nnorman@micromuse.com   |   -- Patton

Attachment: pgpYwjGR7tJi1.pgp
Description: PGP signature


Reply to: