On Dec 23, 2009 at 12:45 PM, Aaron Griffin <aaronmgriffin@gmail.com> wrote:
On Wed, Dec 23, 2009 at 12:48 PM, Thayer Williams <thayerw@gmail.com> wrote:
OK so I'm done with school and now catching up on dev stuff. Want to update some packages, but I don't want to be beaten for my good deeds =)
After reading this thread I still have questions...and I'll preface this by saying I have no previous experience with chroot environments (maybe I'm the only one?):
On Dec 06, 2009 at 05:58 PM, Allan McRae <allan@archlinux.org> wrote:
Paul Mattal wrote:
I agree that it's pretty simple, but not simple enough to have removed the barrier to everyone doing it. So why not make it easier and get rid of more of the mystery?
I assumed we are suppose to build our packages in the svn-packages directory which resides outside the chroot (as specified in the 'HOWTO Be A Packager' article). This was a bit ambiguous in the chroot article and should probably be clarified.
makechrootpkg is smart. You can replace "makepkg" with "makechrootpkg" wherever you may be and it will use your chroot. That's what it was made for - it handles copying files back and forth, entering the chroot, and all that other stuff. You just need a chroot for it to work.
Yeah no worries, I figured that by trial and error. I was just pointing out it was a bit ambiguous on the wiki and thus possibly why the chroot build method wasn't being followed sooner.
Then I should decide-- if I have i686 and x86_64 boxes, is it better to do all my builds on 1 machine, or on separate boxes? Can I build i686 on x86_64? Can I build x86_64 on i686? If I'm going to set all this up, I'm probably going to set it up on several machines-- how can I do that easily?
Up to you... I build for x86_64 and i686 on my i686 comp (running x86_64 kernel). I know many people build for i686 on x86_64. I used to have a separate build machine for x86_64. All combinations can work.
Do we have a x86_64 build box at our dispoosal yet?
Nope, had one for a while. I ended up donating that hardware as it was half functional and collecting dust.
If not, is anyone voluntarily building 64-bit packages?
If not, what are we to do if all we have is i686? I read Allan's blog post about userland x86_64 kernels, but that doesn't sound like a solution I want to pursue.
Ask a kind dev to help you out? I guess it'd depend on the volume.
Aye alright, I just feel like a mooch (heel, slouch?) for asking for help every time I want/need to update a package.
I'm not saying people can't/won't/shouldn't do this. I'm saying it's not a particularly kept-simple part of a distro that prides itself on keeping things simple. People will do it if they trust it and it's simple and elegant, just like the rest of Arch.
In all honesty, I rarely ever create a new chroot but that is definitely the most difficult part of the lot. You should only need to create a chroot once...
So, if I'm understanding the advice from others, we should technically have at least two chrootdirs...one for [testing] and one for everything else. Is that right?
Yes. I keep them in /var as /var/archroot and /var/archroot-testing
Gotcha.
Seeing how this is all mandatory now, we should really add another step to the HOWTO Be A Packager article, along with a link to the chroot article. I can take care of that (and other minor edits) once I have a solid understanding of the overall process.
Tis a wiki, good sir. It can always be edited and redited
Aye, I've already updated a bit today and will continue to do so over the next week.