Re: kernel 2.2.5 symlinks
Hi!
] the README for Linux 2.0.36 kernel tells me, that /usr/include/{asm,linux,scsi}
] should be symlinks to /usr/src/linux/include/{asm,linux,scsi}, respectively.
] They aren't. They are normal directories. That's wrong, isn't it? The
] installation of Slink has done so.
That's an old Linux issue. We were supposed to keep those symlinks
pointing straight to the kernel includes, so that when we compiled stuff
we would get the latest and greatest (and most accurate) definitions. The
problem is if you keep changing kernel versions, it's likely that each of
your programs will have been compiled with a different set of includes,
and things may not allways work as expected. At least that's my version of
it :).
For such a great big distribution like Debian, it's nice to coordinate
which headers the maintainers use to generate the binaries, so that the
chance of interaction problems between packages is minimized, if not
eliminated. That's why the Debian policy mandates that these headers not
point to the kernel, but rather to some known to work fixed set. Again,
that's how I understand it. :)
] I've upgraded to Linux 2.2.5 kernel. Its README doesn't say anything about
] those symlinks. But I've problems to compile some libraries. Someone
] told me, that this can be caused by different versions of installed
] includes or libraries, that don't fit together.
I think you should elaborate more on those problems, as this is too vague.
] Must I delete the directories /usr/include/{arm,linux,scsi} and replace
] them with those symlinks?
I would rather not. Make sure you really have to use the kernel's
includes, and if so, don't delete the directories, but rename them to
asm.old, linux.old, etc.
Hope this helps
Fábio
( Fábio Olivé Leite olive@inf.ufrgs.br )
( http://descartes.ucpel.tche.br/~olive )
( Linux - Distributed Systems - Fault Tolerance - Security - /etc )
( BC 50 7F 7A B9 2E 0A 26 91 8A D1 C0 B1 E4 DA A4 )
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