Getting starting helping the ARM port
On 06-09-21 16:09 +0800, MIC wrote:
> Hi Wookey,
>
> I'm not working no linux arm porting, and I am interested with Debian. I
> want to make it running on samsung's platform.
>
> So I want to join your group, howto?
Hi, welcome. We can always use more keen people - there is a great
deal of work to do.
Which Samsung platform?
This has turned into a very general article so I'm copying it to the
list by way of general info.
The thing to do is just get involved with bug-fixing, testing and
patching build failures, documentation, debian-installer support -
whatever you fancy.
Things you can get involved in are:
1) Debian-installer support for your platform. That means kernel
support in mainline and then debian, then d-i support for the sorts of
hardware it has. This is currently only practical for machines with
sufficient storage to install standard Debian.
2) Fixing packages. Sometimes packages don't build. Porters need help
testing things or rebuilding. See the buildd resources below for info.
This is much easier to help with if you have a reasonably quick build
machine of your own to work on (or a qemu setup). If you are not a
Debian developer then you can test, and fix and provide patches to the
bug tracking system, but someone else will need to do the final upload.
3) Related activities like helping with the EABI armel port, the armeb
port, and making Debian better suited for embedded systems (where
full, standard Debian and native building are overkill):
http://www.emdebian.org/ (reduced packaging, better crossbuilding,
maintaining cross-toolchains etc).
4) stuff I forgot, like updating the impressively-dated arm port web pages.
Thre are a number of resources:
The mailing list: debian-arm@lists.debian.org
http://lists.debian.org/debian-arm/
Standard method of communicating with the port as a whole
The IRC channel:
#debian-arm on irc.debian.org
This is a useful place for quick asnwers/questions
The Web:
There are pages covering the current build status:
http://wiki.debian.org/ArmPort
has links to all the important stuff.
The builddwatch page:
http://wiki.debian.org/ArmBuilddWatch
is where we keep track of current issues. It's
a good place to start if looking for something to fix. It is currently
somewhat out of date.
We are generally the second-worst architecture in terms of percentage
of stuff that simply doesn't build. Fixing some of this would be good
(although also sometimes difficult).
The buildd page shows the current state of things building/broken
waiting for something else:
http://buildd.debian.org/~jeroen/status/architecture.php?a=arm
Hope that's enough to get you started.
Wookey
--
Aleph One Ltd, Bottisham, CAMBRIDGE, CB5 9BA, UK Tel +44 (0) 1223 811679
work: http://www.aleph1.co.uk/ play: http://wookware.org/
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