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[<b><a href="http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/glep/">GLEP Index</a></b>]
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<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">GLEP:</th><td class="field-body">26</td>
</tr>
<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Title:</th><td class="field-body">Handling kernels with portage</td>
</tr>
<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Version:</th><td class="field-body">1.2</td>
</tr>
<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Last-Modified:</th><td class="field-body"><a class="reference" href="http://www.gentoo.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/xml/htdocs/proj/en/glep/glep-0026.txt?cvsroot=gentoo">2004/11/11 21:32:21</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Author:</th><td class="field-body">Nathaniel McCallum &lt;npmccallum&#32;&#97;t&#32;gentoo.org&gt;, Joshua Campbell &lt;warpzero&#32;&#97;t&#32;gentoo.org&gt;</td>
</tr>
<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Status:</th><td class="field-body">deferred</td>
</tr>
<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Type:</th><td class="field-body">Standards Track</td>
</tr>
<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Content-Type:</th><td class="field-body"><a class="reference" href="glep-0002.html">text/x-rst</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Created:</th><td class="field-body">2-May-2004</td>
</tr>
<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Post-History:</th><td class="field-body">2-May-2004, 11-Nov-2004</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr />
<div class="contents topic">
<p class="topic-title first"><a id="contents" name="contents">Contents</a></p>
<ul class="simple">
<li><a class="reference" href="#abstract" id="id2" name="id2">Abstract</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#status" id="id3" name="id3">Status</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#motivation" id="id4" name="id4">Motivation</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#specification" id="id5" name="id5">Specification</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#rationale" id="id6" name="id6">Rationale</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#backwards-compatibility" id="id7" name="id7">Backwards Compatibility</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#reference-implementation" id="id8" name="id8">Reference Implementation</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#copyright" id="id9" name="id9">Copyright</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id2" id="abstract" name="abstract">Abstract</a></h1>
<p>This GLEP proposes to create a more consistent handling of kernels and kernel building.
Currently &quot;emerge kernel-name&quot; only installs the sources and does not build anything.
&quot;emerge kernel-name&quot; should install only sources OR only a binary kernel, its modules,
and a tarballed package of kernel-headers, depending on USE flag.</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id3" id="status" name="status">Status</a></h1>
<p>Timed out</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id4" id="motivation" name="motivation">Motivation</a></h1>
<p>Currently, the only automated kernel build proceedure that we have is genkernel. While
genkernel is a great tool, its main weakness is that it does not port well to other
arches because of the initrd and the lack of good &quot;generic&quot; settings for other arches.
This GLEP hopes to overcome this by abstracting the various layers of genkernel and
implementing the most common aspect (the build proceedure) into a portage eclass.</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id5" id="specification" name="specification">Specification</a></h1>
<p>There would be 3 layers to kernel building:             (place of implementation)</p>
<blockquote>
<ul class="simple">
<li>Stage 1 - Configuring the kernel (optional)   -- external utility</li>
<li>Stage 2 - Building the kernel                         -- in an eclass</li>
<li>Stage 3 - Building the initrd (optional)      -- in an ebuild</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>Stages 1 and 3 are optional on most arches.</p>
<p>Stage 1 would be achieved through a seperate utility (perhaps like the current
genkernel).  This utility would help the user configure the kernel and any kernel/build
related settings.  This stage is optional and would only be used if a person wanted a
customized kernel settings.  One optional thought is to have this utility a part of the
base Gentoo system.  That way there are less steps to make a custom kernel.</p>
<p>Stage 2 would be implimented through an eclass.  This stage is not optional.  One would
perform this step by typing &quot;emerge kernel-name&quot;, where &quot;kernel-name&quot; is the name of
the kernel package you want to use (ie. &quot;gentoo-dev&quot;).  This package would have a
&quot;buildkernel&quot; USE flag.  If the flag was not set, it would simply download and install
sources like we do currently.  However, if the &quot;buildkernel&quot; flag is set, portage will
perform the following steps:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol class="arabic simple">
<li>(as a dependency) download and install a tarball of &quot;generic&quot; kernel config files.</li>
<li>Check to see if customized kernel config/settings have been set via Stage 1.</li>
<li>Portage will use a custom config, if available.  Otherwise, a &quot;generic&quot; config.</li>
<li>If neither a custom config or a &quot;generic&quot; config is available, die (with message).
This is needed as some arches don't/can't have &quot;generic&quot; configs, so they will
simply be presented a message telling them to run the utility from Stage 1 (which
they obviously skipped).</li>
<li>Build the kernel and modules and install them</li>
<li>Remove unnecessary files from the sources and tarball it as &quot;kernel-headers&quot;.
This tarball provides the appropriate files to build external modules against, like
nvidia-kernel, etc...  The external modules (when built) will determine the running
kernel and unpack the appropriate tarball, to build against, then remove the files.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>Stage 3 would merely be an ebuild that constructs an initrd image for either the running
kernel or, lacking a running kernel, the newest kernel installed (by version/date installed?).
Initrd's can't be used on all arches, so this ebuild can be keyword masked as appropriate.
The initrd package would also have a &quot;bootsplash&quot; USE flag (on x86, maybe others) that
would build in bootsplash support.  Any non-default actions desired by the user can be
handled with the utility from Stage 1.</p>
<p>This would lead us to several case scenarios (assuming kernel-config is part of the base
system):</p>
<blockquote>
<ol class="arabic">
<li><p class="first">default kernel, no initrd:              &quot;emerge gentoo-kernel&quot;</p>
</li>
<li><p class="first">default kernel, initrd:                 &quot;emerge aa-kernel initrd&quot;</p>
</li>
<li><p class="first">default kernel, bootsplash initrd:      &quot;USE=bootsplash emerge mm-kernel initrd&quot;</p>
</li>
<li><dl class="first docutils">
<dt>non-default kernel, no initrd:          &quot;kernel-config gentoo-dev-kernel&quot;</dt>
<dd><p class="first last">&quot;emerge gentoo-dev-kernel&quot;</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</li>
<li><dl class="first docutils">
<dt>non-default kernel, initrd:             &quot;kernel-config alpha-kernel&quot;</dt>
<dd><p class="first last">&quot;emerge alpha-kernel initrd&quot;</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</li>
<li><p class="first">JUST sources, no binary                 &quot;USE=-buildkernel emerge grsec-kernel&quot;</p>
</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
</div>
<div class="section">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id6" id="rationale" name="rationale">Rationale</a></h1>
<p>There are many advantages gained by this method:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol class="arabic simple">
<li>Full arch support (GentooInstaller really could use this)</li>
<li>More consistent with the rest of portage (installs binaries by building from source)</li>
<li>Better user experience</li>
<li>More flexability (genkernel forces building of initrd on x86)</li>
<li>Don't have to store full kernel sources (each source tree is ~200MB unpacked)</li>
<li>Creates the ability to make binary kernel packages for fast installs (think GRP kernel)</li>
<li>A seperate package for &quot;generic&quot; kernel config files gives us better version tracking</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>The major problem is, however, that we currently have two different build systems,
portage and genkernel.  Having competing build systems is not a GoodThing TM.  Therefore,
we can either make portage build kernels or we can make genkernel build everything else.</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id7" id="backwards-compatibility" name="backwards-compatibility">Backwards Compatibility</a></h1>
<p>If you want to emerge kernel sources the old way, just do: USE=&quot;-buildkernel&quot; emerge kernel-name</p>
<p>Perhaps we could also name the new kernel-config program (from Stage 1) &quot;genkernel&quot; so that users
can have a seemless transition.</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id8" id="reference-implementation" name="reference-implementation">Reference Implementation</a></h1>
<p>not yet ..</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id9" id="copyright" name="copyright">Copyright</a></h1>
<p>This document has been placed in the public domain.</p>
</div>

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268	[<b><a href="http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/glep/glep-0026.txt">GLEP Source</a></b>]
269	</td></tr></table>
270	<table class="rfc2822 docutils field-list" frame="void" rules="none">
271	<col class="field-name" />
272	<col class="field-body" />
273	<tbody valign="top">
274	<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">GLEP:</th><td class="field-body">26</td>
275	</tr>
276	<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Title:</th><td class="field-body">Handling kernels with portage</td>
277	</tr>
278	<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Version:</th><td class="field-body">1.2</td>
279	</tr>
280	<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Last-Modified:</th><td class="field-body"><a class="reference" href="http://www.gentoo.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/xml/htdocs/proj/en/glep/glep-0026.txt?cvsroot=gentoo">2004/11/11 21:32:21</a></td>
281	</tr>
282	<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Author:</th><td class="field-body">Nathaniel McCallum <npmccallum at gentoo.org>, Joshua Campbell <warpzero at gentoo.org></td>
283	</tr>
284	<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Status:</th><td class="field-body">deferred</td>
285	</tr>
286	<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Type:</th><td class="field-body">Standards Track</td>
287	</tr>
288	<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Content-Type:</th><td class="field-body"><a class="reference" href="glep-0002.html">text/x-rst</a></td>
289	</tr>
290	<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Created:</th><td class="field-body">2-May-2004</td>
291	</tr>
292	<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Post-History:</th><td class="field-body">2-May-2004, 11-Nov-2004</td>
293	</tr>
294	</tbody>
295	</table>
296	<hr />
297	<div class="contents topic">
298	<p class="topic-title first"><a id="contents" name="contents">Contents</a></p>
299	<ul class="simple">
300	<li><a class="reference" href="#abstract" id="id2" name="id2">Abstract</a></li>
301	<li><a class="reference" href="#status" id="id3" name="id3">Status</a></li>
302	<li><a class="reference" href="#motivation" id="id4" name="id4">Motivation</a></li>
303	<li><a class="reference" href="#specification" id="id5" name="id5">Specification</a></li>
304	<li><a class="reference" href="#rationale" id="id6" name="id6">Rationale</a></li>
305	<li><a class="reference" href="#backwards-compatibility" id="id7" name="id7">Backwards Compatibility</a></li>
306	<li><a class="reference" href="#reference-implementation" id="id8" name="id8">Reference Implementation</a></li>
307	<li><a class="reference" href="#copyright" id="id9" name="id9">Copyright</a></li>
308	</ul>
309	</div>
310	<div class="section">
311	<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id2" id="abstract" name="abstract">Abstract</a></h1>
312	<p>This GLEP proposes to create a more consistent handling of kernels and kernel building.
313	Currently "emerge kernel-name" only installs the sources and does not build anything.
314	"emerge kernel-name" should install only sources OR only a binary kernel, its modules,
315	and a tarballed package of kernel-headers, depending on USE flag.</p>
316	</div>
317	<div class="section">
318	<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id3" id="status" name="status">Status</a></h1>
319	<p>Timed out</p>
320	</div>
321	<div class="section">
322	<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id4" id="motivation" name="motivation">Motivation</a></h1>
323	<p>Currently, the only automated kernel build proceedure that we have is genkernel. While
324	genkernel is a great tool, its main weakness is that it does not port well to other
325	arches because of the initrd and the lack of good "generic" settings for other arches.
326	This GLEP hopes to overcome this by abstracting the various layers of genkernel and
327	implementing the most common aspect (the build proceedure) into a portage eclass.</p>
328	</div>
329	<div class="section">
330	<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id5" id="specification" name="specification">Specification</a></h1>
331	<p>There would be 3 layers to kernel building: (place of implementation)</p>
332	<blockquote>
333	<ul class="simple">
334	<li>Stage 1 - Configuring the kernel (optional) -- external utility</li>
335	<li>Stage 2 - Building the kernel -- in an eclass</li>
336	<li>Stage 3 - Building the initrd (optional) -- in an ebuild</li>
337	</ul>
338	</blockquote>
339	<p>Stages 1 and 3 are optional on most arches.</p>
340	<p>Stage 1 would be achieved through a seperate utility (perhaps like the current
341	genkernel). This utility would help the user configure the kernel and any kernel/build
342	related settings. This stage is optional and would only be used if a person wanted a
343	customized kernel settings. One optional thought is to have this utility a part of the
344	base Gentoo system. That way there are less steps to make a custom kernel.</p>
345	<p>Stage 2 would be implimented through an eclass. This stage is not optional. One would
346	perform this step by typing "emerge kernel-name", where "kernel-name" is the name of
347	the kernel package you want to use (ie. "gentoo-dev"). This package would have a
348	"buildkernel" USE flag. If the flag was not set, it would simply download and install
349	sources like we do currently. However, if the "buildkernel" flag is set, portage will
350	perform the following steps:</p>
351	<blockquote>
352	<ol class="arabic simple">
353	<li>(as a dependency) download and install a tarball of "generic" kernel config files.</li>
354	<li>Check to see if customized kernel config/settings have been set via Stage 1.</li>
355	<li>Portage will use a custom config, if available. Otherwise, a "generic" config.</li>
356	<li>If neither a custom config or a "generic" config is available, die (with message).
357	This is needed as some arches don't/can't have "generic" configs, so they will
358	simply be presented a message telling them to run the utility from Stage 1 (which
359	they obviously skipped).</li>
360	<li>Build the kernel and modules and install them</li>
361	<li>Remove unnecessary files from the sources and tarball it as "kernel-headers".
362	This tarball provides the appropriate files to build external modules against, like
363	nvidia-kernel, etc... The external modules (when built) will determine the running
364	kernel and unpack the appropriate tarball, to build against, then remove the files.</li>
365	</ol>
366	</blockquote>
367	<p>Stage 3 would merely be an ebuild that constructs an initrd image for either the running
368	kernel or, lacking a running kernel, the newest kernel installed (by version/date installed?).
369	Initrd's can't be used on all arches, so this ebuild can be keyword masked as appropriate.
370	The initrd package would also have a "bootsplash" USE flag (on x86, maybe others) that
371	would build in bootsplash support. Any non-default actions desired by the user can be
372	handled with the utility from Stage 1.</p>
373	<p>This would lead us to several case scenarios (assuming kernel-config is part of the base
374	system):</p>
375	<blockquote>
376	<ol class="arabic">
377	<li><p class="first">default kernel, no initrd: "emerge gentoo-kernel"</p>
378	</li>
379	<li><p class="first">default kernel, initrd: "emerge aa-kernel initrd"</p>
380	</li>
381	<li><p class="first">default kernel, bootsplash initrd: "USE=bootsplash emerge mm-kernel initrd"</p>
382	</li>
383	<li><dl class="first docutils">
384	<dt>non-default kernel, no initrd: "kernel-config gentoo-dev-kernel"</dt>
385	<dd><p class="first last">"emerge gentoo-dev-kernel"</p>
386	</dd>
387	</dl>
388	</li>
389	<li><dl class="first docutils">
390	<dt>non-default kernel, initrd: "kernel-config alpha-kernel"</dt>
391	<dd><p class="first last">"emerge alpha-kernel initrd"</p>
392	</dd>
393	</dl>
394	</li>
395	<li><p class="first">JUST sources, no binary "USE=-buildkernel emerge grsec-kernel"</p>
396	</li>
397	</ol>
398	</blockquote>
399	</div>
400	<div class="section">
401	<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id6" id="rationale" name="rationale">Rationale</a></h1>
402	<p>There are many advantages gained by this method:</p>
403	<blockquote>
404	<ol class="arabic simple">
405	<li>Full arch support (GentooInstaller really could use this)</li>
406	<li>More consistent with the rest of portage (installs binaries by building from source)</li>
407	<li>Better user experience</li>
408	<li>More flexability (genkernel forces building of initrd on x86)</li>
409	<li>Don't have to store full kernel sources (each source tree is ~200MB unpacked)</li>
410	<li>Creates the ability to make binary kernel packages for fast installs (think GRP kernel)</li>
411	<li>A seperate package for "generic" kernel config files gives us better version tracking</li>
412	</ol>
413	</blockquote>
414	<p>The major problem is, however, that we currently have two different build systems,
415	portage and genkernel. Having competing build systems is not a GoodThing TM. Therefore,
416	we can either make portage build kernels or we can make genkernel build everything else.</p>
417	</div>
418	<div class="section">
419	<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id7" id="backwards-compatibility" name="backwards-compatibility">Backwards Compatibility</a></h1>
420	<p>If you want to emerge kernel sources the old way, just do: USE="-buildkernel" emerge kernel-name</p>
421	<p>Perhaps we could also name the new kernel-config program (from Stage 1) "genkernel" so that users
422	can have a seemless transition.</p>
423	</div>
424	<div class="section">
425	<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id8" id="reference-implementation" name="reference-implementation">Reference Implementation</a></h1>
426	<p>not yet ..</p>
427	</div>
428	<div class="section">
429	<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id9" id="copyright" name="copyright">Copyright</a></h1>
430	<p>This document has been placed in the public domain.</p>
431	</div>
432
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