[2024-feb-29] Sad news: Eric Layton aka Nocturnal Slacker aka vtel57 passed away on Feb 26th, shortly after hospitalization. He was one of our Wiki's most prominent admins. He will be missed.
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| slackwarearm:faq [2017/08/09 12:57 (UTC)] – created mozes | slackwarearm:faq [2017/08/09 17:00 (UTC)] – mozes | ||
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| - | The FAQ is split in to categories. | + | ====== Slackware ARM - Frequently Asked Questions ====== |
| Most of the questions are added here arise from questions posed on the [[http:// | Most of the questions are added here arise from questions posed on the [[http:// | ||
| - | ====== Hardware====== | + | ===== Hardware===== |
| //Q. Will Slackware ARM run on < | //Q. Will Slackware ARM run on < | ||
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| One of the easiest ways to check whether your device has any semblance of Linux community support is to check whether Debian ARM runs upon it. If so, many of the Debian users tend to write excellent documentation describing how they installed Linux upon their device. Most of this information can be used to assist with shoehorning Slackware ARM on to the device. | One of the easiest ways to check whether your device has any semblance of Linux community support is to check whether Debian ARM runs upon it. If so, many of the Debian users tend to write excellent documentation describing how they installed Linux upon their device. Most of this information can be used to assist with shoehorning Slackware ARM on to the device. | ||
| - | ====== Installation specifics | + | ===== Installation specifics |
| //Q. I get a CRC error trying to boot the Kernel// | //Q. I get a CRC error trying to boot the Kernel// | ||
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| You need to upgrade the kernel on your existing ARM Linux installation. | You need to upgrade the kernel on your existing ARM Linux installation. | ||
| - | ====== Packages and user land ====== | + | ===== Packages and user land ===== |
| //Q. Slackware ARM has a newer kernel than Slackware x86 - can we expect x86 to catch up? | //Q. Slackware ARM has a newer kernel than Slackware x86 - can we expect x86 to catch up? | ||
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| A. Slackware ARM aims to follow as many kernel configuration options in x86 as possible in order to provide a consistent user experience, but the ARM port uses which ever kernel is the most appropriate at the time with regard to the ARM architecture (usually the latest kernel is preferred, or necessary to provide support for a newly supported architecture). | A. Slackware ARM aims to follow as many kernel configuration options in x86 as possible in order to provide a consistent user experience, but the ARM port uses which ever kernel is the most appropriate at the time with regard to the ARM architecture (usually the latest kernel is preferred, or necessary to provide support for a newly supported architecture). | ||
| - | ====== Compiling software on ARM ====== | + | ===== Compiling software on ARM ===== |
| - | ===== Building the Slackware ARM packages | + | ==== Building the Slackware ARM packages ==== |
| //Q. The SlackBuild scripts in Slackware ARM fail to run. How can I rebuild the Slackware ARM packages from the source directory? | //Q. The SlackBuild scripts in Slackware ARM fail to run. How can I rebuild the Slackware ARM packages from the source directory? | ||
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| // | // | ||
| - | A. Not directly. The packages are all built natively on a running Slackware ARM OS, but use distcc to a bunch of x86/x86_64 machines that runs a basic " | + | A. Not directly. The packages are all built natively on a running Slackware ARM OS, but use distcc to a bunch of x86/x86_64 machines that runs a basic " |
| //Q. Does Slackware ARM use Scratchbox? | //Q. Does Slackware ARM use Scratchbox? | ||
| Line 55: | Line 56: | ||
| A. Slackware ARM used ScratchBox back in 2002 to originally build the first batch of packages in order to bootstrap the port, and some effort was made in producing scripts to help setup a Slackware-like environment. However, this work was abandoned shortly after the port was able to be self supporting. | A. Slackware ARM used ScratchBox back in 2002 to originally build the first batch of packages in order to bootstrap the port, and some effort was made in producing scripts to help setup a Slackware-like environment. However, this work was abandoned shortly after the port was able to be self supporting. | ||
| - | Cross compiling software | + | ==== Cross compiling software |
| //Q. How can I cross compile software for use on Slackware ARM?// | //Q. How can I cross compile software for use on Slackware ARM?// | ||
| - | A. If you wish, you can cross compile software using a suitable cross compiler that outputs ARM binaries. There are a number of cross compilers available in binary form, or you can build your own (although that's much more work but you'll learn a lot!). The reason that Slackware ARM packages are built natively is because many packages aren't suitable for cross compilation without making many manual adjustments to Makefiles and configure scripts. Also, if your package is linking against system libraries, it can be tricky to get this working properly in a cross compiler environment. In my experience, it's far easier to get a fast ARM machine (an OpenRD Client with an internal SATA or external eSATA drive) and use distcc. The amount of time you spend waiting for the build to finish is far off set by the amount of time hacking build systems to work properly in a " | + | A. If you wish, you can cross compile software using a suitable cross compiler that outputs ARM binaries. There are a number of cross compilers available in binary form, or you can build your own (although that's much more work but you'll learn a lot!). The reason that Slackware ARM packages are built natively is because many packages aren't suitable for cross compilation without making many manual adjustments to Makefiles and configure scripts. Also, if your package is linking against system libraries, it can be tricky to get this working properly in a cross compiler environment. In my experience, it's far easier to get a fast ARM machine (a quad core Orange Pi) and use distcc. The amount of time you spend waiting for the build to finish is far off set by the amount of time hacking build systems to work properly in a " |
| - | ====== General | + | ===== General ===== |
| //Q. Why was the ARM port renamed from ARMedslack to Slackware ARM? | //Q. Why was the ARM port renamed from ARMedslack to Slackware ARM? | ||
| // | // | ||
| - | A. Originally the ARM port was named ARMedslack because it was not an official port, and as such could not have the hold Slackware name. In 2009, ARMedslack became the official port but continued with the ARMedslack name until 2012 when it was renamed Slackware ARM in time for the release of Slackware 14.00. The delay in changing the name was simply due to the amount of work required in doing so! | + | A. Originally the ARM port was named ARMedslack because it was not an official port, and as such could not hold Slackware name. In 2009, ARMedslack became the official port but continued with the ARMedslack name until 2012 when it was renamed Slackware ARM in time for the release of Slackware 14.00. The delay in changing the name was simply due to the amount of work required in doing so! |
