Re: libc headers issue
I've copied this to debian-user since this question is starting to
come up there. We really need a Debian FAQ. Any volunteers?
> > What in simple terms does all this mean to me
>
> It means that the headers in /usr/include/linux and /usr/include/asm do not
> match the kernel you are running. They instead match the kernel that the
> C library was built for. The only time this is a problem is if you are building
> a user-mode tool that relies on a kernel interface that has recently changed
> and you are running a C library that is behind the version of your kernel.
> In this case you must add -I/usr/src/linux/include to your command line when
> building it. Another recent problem was caused by "accessories" to the kernel
> not building correctly - "make menuconfig" in /usr/src/linux was the one
> that hit me. This seems to have gone away.
Bruce did a good job of answering, but he left out one thing -- the
rationale.
The intent is to provide a more stable development environment. When
/usr/include/{asm,linux} are linked to the current kernel sources, you
run the risk of breaking the compilation of all programs each time you
upgrade kernels. What we have done is provide the headers from a
kernel that is know to work with libc. With this arrangement, you are
still free to compile and upgrade kernels as you see fit without
affecting the compilation of other programs. It is hoped that libc
distributed by H.J. Lu will eventually adopt this arrangement as well.
David
--
David Engel Optical Data Systems, Inc.
david@ods.com 1101 E. Arapaho Road
(214) 234-6400 Richardson, TX 75081
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