[arch-dev-public] Punishment needed for not building in a chroot

[Thayer Williams]

On Dec 23, 2009 at 12:45 PM, Aaron Griffin <aaronmgriffin at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Dec 23, 2009 at 12:48 PM, Thayer Williams <thayerw at 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 at 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.