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Re: /usr/include/linux (WAS: _PCMCIA_"make_all"_errors)



> Manfred Wassmann <manolo@NCC-1701.B.shuttle.de>
> wrote:
> 
> > BTW it is a bad idea that was suggested earlier to delete
> > /usr/include/linux. On Debian those files are used to compile
> > application
> > programs only and have nothing to do with the kernel you are
> > compiling.
> 
> AFAIK, debian is the only distribution where /usr/include/linux is not a
> symlink to /usr/src/linux/include. I had trouble with it at least once, when
> I tried to compile some kernel-related programs (I think it was ALSA),
> because the include files didn't really match my kernel. Anyways, where is
> the idea of having two sets of include files on your system?
> 
> Wondering,
> 				Torsten

According to the fellow who berated The Answer Gang about this (suggesting
moving around the include link) ... passed through my tiny little "not a 
kernel hacker" brain ... the idea is that glib has a certain set of the 
headers which it sort of generically expects to use when compiling userland
apps.

Whereas the one inside the real linux sources is desperately needed to be
correct when compiling the kernel itself.  (Duh :> )  

The problem we keep running into is with apps that "cross the blood/brain
barrier" ... pcmcia as a -prime- example ... it probably would greatly 
prefer the "real" includes.  You can't just move them though because most
userland apps prefer the fakes!

Worse, when we start hopping entire kernel versions.  Newer versions have
a link in /lib/modules called 'build' that says where it got its sources
from, so that something smart can be done, however, I have no idea if gcc
does The Right Thing with that yet.

All this doesn't really help a poor user decide what is best, but it made
a little better sense to me once we spent about a month on the thread :(
and I hope it makes a lot more sense to you folks now.

Anyone who works in this magic at a deeper level is certainly welcome to
chime in and improve my view of Linux physics.

* Heather Stern * star@ many places...



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