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Slitaz future?

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Started 4 years ago by guest_account
Latest reply from alanyih
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fredyfred

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Noticed on Distrowatch.com they have listed KaOS - a rolling distribution in their 'News and Updates'.

Wondered why Slitaz cant get a more frequent mention there...seeing it too has a rolling version..and it does get updated frequently. Ok - so its not so focused on the latest but it maintains being a small distro rather well... which is something KaOS is not so good at.

Im sure if Slitaz appeared in their update lists more frequently it would get more users ..and perhaps more helping support..??

Posted 4 years ago #
gdesilva

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Just endorsing most of the concerns listed above....it would be a great pity if Slitaz goes out of the radar as I personally found it to be one of the best Linux OSs in the low spec hardware segment.

Posted 4 years ago #
chouceleste

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Member

Hi,
I registered just to add my opinion
Slitaz is nice, the package manager and overall managing is great but lacks of packages and really outdated packages makes it unfortunately not usable
It would be great if it could get a boost

Posted 4 years ago #
AnLok

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Member

chouceleste === @@@
Hi,
I registered just to add my opinion
Slitaz is nice, the package manager and overall managing is great but lacks of packages and really outdated packages makes it unfortunately not usable
It would be great if it could get a boost
=== @@@
+1 to You, I have tried a lot of OSs on my old Compaq Presario X1000 - thise SLITAZ is one of fasters !!! Hope it will be in live !!!

Posted 4 years ago #
enigma9o7

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I also like Slitaz but wish rolling would update kernel & glibc. I mean rolling means it should get updates right, but now kernel is out of date.... maybe release another RC or actual release version 5 as is now so those who want to keep using it can like version 3.0 and 4.0.. but at least update rolling 32-bit one last time to 4.19 (or even 5.4) and appropriate glibc.

Posted 4 years ago #
Filou

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+1 ...
I use Slitaz already for quite some times (just saw that one of my first posts in this forum is already 9 years old) and am still using it on a daily basis as THE operating system on a couple of machines.

The kernel is not the problem as I am running different self-compiled 64-bit Kernels of 4.8, 4.20 and even 5.3 version, all of which are functioning fine.

The problem is the lacking jump to 64-bit and a reasonable recent version of glib, which means, that more and more modern programs simply refuse to work and are even not compileable esp. due to the glib-version.

I already made several half-hearted attempts using crosstools-ng and Linux-from-scratch (LFS) to imitate the first steps described in the scratchbook but up to now I did not succeed in building a somewhat stable basis for a real "Slitaz64".

Apart from being a lot of work, I am just not able to grab the real obstacles... To my understanding WE (not "the developers", but some more of us in the community) have to perform the following steps:
1.) Build a (Cross-) toolchain with a recent gcc, binutils & Co, maybe together with recent Kernel Header files,
2.) build a 64-bit busybox with it and set up a minimal linux (there are some websites explaining how to get up to here)
3.) add (and maybe patch?) the numerous Slitaz-Scripts
4.) identify the order in which the recent versions of the numerous Packages have to be built up to a graphical desktop again (........)
5.) and keep on and on and on compiling the packages...

This means starting with Slitaz more or less from Scratch again...!

I would gladly contribute to this, (but don't solely count on me, I earn my money in aircraft maintenance, not in computer science....)

Any recommendations or experiences?

Posted 4 years ago #
akm

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I've just logged in (I've been on the forum for a good while) to say that the community should get more involved (like Filou said) but I don't have the time. I'm reading the book "The Debian Administrator's Handbook" (it is freely downloadable) to know Linux and Unix better. I think it might be very useful for a beginner. SliTaz might have some differences from Debian, but I don't know. I might see after I finish the book. At least I will have general insight into modern Linux distributions. Previous books I tried to read were too old (from 2005). I don't know a good bash guide, I think that would be very useful too.

I always preferred to install Debian after SliTaz (in Dualboot) as a hack, because it will usually take over configuring the bootloader and the installation process is not too difficult (it is pretty easy for everyone who knows more than nothing about computers, especially partitions and mount points, for example /swap) (AND NO COMMAND LINE). It worked just about well enough on my Celeron D, but it was still a little slow. I chose the Debian LXDE flavor, because it is the fastest. I have a much faster machine now, but would prefer SliTaz.

Posted 4 years ago #
Filou

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Moderator

I just finished my first cross-compilation of busybox 1.31.1 for x86-64 using my running Slitaz...!

As a first successful run I strictly followed the Cross-Linux-From-Scratch instructions published under
http://clfs.org/view/sysvinit/x86_64/
to build a x86-64 toolchain containing gcc 7.1.0, glibc 2.25 and Kernel 4.9.21.

My sooner attempts with the newest tools and libraries (gcc 10.2.0, glibc 2.32 and Kernel 5.10.3) failed at some point but I will try to push further in the coming days.

If you download the source files as directed on the CLFS-page, you can either go through the process step by step or use the attached file containing the same (making it executable).

The cross-toolchain should be the first step; as soon as this is up and running stable with most recent versions, we should concentrate on the wok, that already contains cross-compiling capabilities (which might need adaption, I don't know yet...).

If we achieve a stable cross-compilation x86-64 wok, and therefore are able to cook all necessary packages, the way to a x86-64 Slitaz might be ready to go....

Or - dear more experienced experts - am I totally naive and wrong ?!?

Attachment not working... so as code:
[deleted, please se below... better go the slitaz cross cooker way...]

Posted 4 years ago #
Filou

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Cheers all,

I had to edit my last post, since the result would have been the need to have some directories under /root, which would not be desireable on the long run...

With the posted script you are in the position to build your own cross-toolchain in about half an hour without the need to type a lot...

You should have the necessary source files, downloadable from http://clfs.org/view/sysvinit/x86_64/materials/packages.html , (and only those together with the necessary patches) available in one directory that you put into the variable SRCPATH.

The rest should work "out of the box" on the recent 32-bit Slitaz CD-Image...

In upcoming posts I'll try to present my experiences with a local wok and the modifications that might be necessary...

Posted 4 years ago #
Filou

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After installing cookutils, I edited /etc/slitaz/cook.conf concerning the following lines:
```
ARCH="i486"

BUILD_SYSTEM="$ARCH-slitaz-linux"
HOST_SYSTEM="$ARCH-slitaz-linux"

CROSS_TREE="$SLITAZ/tools"

CFLAGS="-march=nocona -Os -pipe"

TOOLPREFIX="x86_64-slitaz-linux-gnu-"

CONFIGURE_ARGS="CC=x86_64-slitaz-linux-gnu-gcc --build=i486-slitaz-linux --host=x86_64-slitaz-linux-gnu"
```
with this, after setting up the wok, the first packages (like m4, pkg-config, libogg) were build successfully using the cross-compiler.

Others, like libvorbis, fail at the moment due to open dependencies (ironically, Ogg), which I will still have to resolve...
Posted 4 years ago #
akm

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Bash book: "The Linux Command Line" (freely downloadable) I haven't finished "The Debian Administrator's Handbook" yet, but that book seems good and up to date, and the author seems very engaged.

Posted 4 years ago #
akm

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But YouTube tutorials might be an option too.

Posted 4 years ago #
Filou

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Moderator

Well....

quite embarassing to realize, that Pankso had the cross-toolchain ready already 5 years ago and I simply didn't understand what was directly in front of my eyes...

But that may also depend on the fact, that the cross compile script halted with errors in my config all the time and I wasn't able to grab the faults.

Now that I invested some time into "Cross Linux from scratch" I found the bug that intimidated me (and maybe others, too). In addition, I patched cross.conf and /usr/bin/cross. As a first step, I took the packages, that CLFS uses in the latest version (apart from the Kernel) and want to step ahead from there...

So what did I do?

1.) I changed the command order in /usr/bin/cross in the procedure `compile.
glibc-headers depends on the Kernel headers being present. In the script, glibc_headers was called BEFORE kernel_headers. Changing the order leads to a working compilation.

2.) I copied the line to identify the number of possible threads into the script: THREADS=$(grep processor /proc/cpuinfo | wc -l)and added the parameter to the make commands (make -j$THREADS)

3.) Since tar is able to identify the correct decompressor by itself, I changed the tar -x[j|J]f commands to simply tar -xf, gaining some flexibility for a change of provided source packages.

4.) Due to the updated sources, the --enable-kernel= parameter for glibc compilation was changed to the minimum version of 3.12.0 (as documented in CLFS).

5.) I changed /etc/slitaz/cross.confto contain the updated version information.

With these settings, I am reliably able to produce a cross-toolchain that cooks x86_64 tazpkgs.

!!! BUT BEWARE !!!

Using this toolchain and the available x86_64 receipts in the wok, some of the packages are produced flawlessly (beginning with m4, the compressors and more). But some others (like bison) BREAK THE SYSTEM COMPLETELY during the optimisation of the package by deleting most of the system files.
SO USE THIS ON A SYSTEM RUNNING IN RAM ONLY, NOT ON A HD-INSTALLED ONE!

I guess we will have to dig deeper into the cook scripts to find that one...

I'll post the patches in a minute...

Posted 4 years ago #

Filou

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Moderator

--- /etc/slitaz/cross.conf
+++ /media/Daten/Slitaz64_bootstrap/source/../slitaz-cross/cross.conf
@@ -12,11 +12,11 @@
 SRC=/home/slitaz/src

 # Cross-tools versions
-BINUTILS_VERSION="2.22"
-LINUX_VERSION="3.2.14"
-GLIBC_VERSION="2.14.1"
-GCC_VERSION="4.6.3"
-LIBTOOL_VERSION="2.4.2"
+BINUTILS_VERSION="2.28"
+LINUX_VERSION="5.10.3"
+GLIBC_VERSION="2.25"
+GCC_VERSION="7.1.0"
+LIBTOOL_VERSION="2.4.6"

 # Per package configure arguments
 BINUTILS_ARGS="--disable-multilib --enable-64-bit-bfd"

Posted 4 years ago #

Filou

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Moderator

--- /usr/bin/cross
+++ /media/Daten/Slitaz64_bootstrap/slitaz-cross/cross
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 [ -f "/etc/slitaz/cross.conf" ] && . /etc/slitaz/cross.conf
 [ -f "cross.conf" ] && . ./cross.conf

+THREADS=$(grep processor /proc/cpuinfo | wc -l)

 # Handle --config=/path/to/cross.conf

@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@

 binutils_tarball="binutils-$BINUTILS_VERSION.tar.bz2"
 linux_tarball="linux-$LINUX_VERSION.tar.xz"
-glibc_tarball="glibc-$GLIBC_VERSION.tar.bz2"
+glibc_tarball="glibc-$GLIBC_VERSION.tar.xz"
 eglibc_tarball="eglibc-$EGLIBC_VERSION.tar.bz2"
 gcc_tarball="gcc-$GCC_VERSION.tar.bz2"
 libtool_tarball="libtool-$LIBTOOL_VERSION.tar.gz"
@@ -34,12 +35,12 @@
 # Cross-tools URLs

 binutils_wget="http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils/$binutils_tarball"
-linux_wget="http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/$linux_tarball"
+linux_wget="http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/$linux_tarball"
 glibc_wget="http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/libc/$glibc_tarball"
 eglibc_wget="http://mirror.slitaz.org/arm/src/$eglibc_tarball"
 eglibc_svn="svn://svn.eglibc.org/branches/eglibc-2_14"
 gcc_wget="http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gcc/gcc-$GCC_VERSION/$gcc_tarball"
-libtool_wget="ftp://sunsite.cnlab-switch.ch/mirror/gnu/libtool/$libtool_tarball"
+libtool_wget="https://ftpmirror.gnu.org/libtool/$libtool_tarball"

 # Help and usage.
@@ -141,7 +142,7 @@
 	init_compile
 	rm -rf binutils-$BINUTILS_VERSION
 	echo "Extracting: $binutils_tarball"
-	tar -xjf $SRC/$binutils_tarball
+	tar -xf $SRC/$binutils_tarball
 	echo "Configure: $BINUTILS_ARGS"
 	cd binutils-$BINUTILS_VERSION
 	./configure \
@@ -152,7 +153,7 @@
 		--enable-targets=$BUILD_SYSTEM \
 		--with-sysroot=$sysroot \
 		$BINUTILS_ARGS &&
-	make || exit 1
+	make -j${THREADS} || exit 1
 	make install
 	echo "cross: binutils compiled on: $(date)"
 }
@@ -164,7 +165,7 @@
 	init_compile
 	if [ ! -d "linux-$LINUX_VERSION" ]; then
 		echo "Extracting: $linux_tarball"
-		tar -xJf $SRC/$linux_tarball
+		tar -xf $SRC/$linux_tarball
 	fi
 	case "$ARCH" in
 		armv6hf) KARCH='arm' ;;
@@ -188,7 +189,7 @@
 glibc_headers() {
 	init_compile
 	echo "Extracting: $glibc_tarball"
-	tar -xjf $SRC/$glibc_tarball
+	tar -xf $SRC/$glibc_tarball
 	rm -rf glibc-headers
 	mkdir glibc-headers; cd glibc-headers
 	libc_cv_forced_unwind=yes \
@@ -199,7 +200,7 @@
 		--with-headers=$sysroot/usr/include \
 		--without-cvs \
 		--disable-sanity-checks \
-		--enable-kernel=2.6.32 &&
+		--enable-kernel=3.12.0 &&
 	make -k install-headers install_root=$sysroot
 	# Fixes
 	mkdir -p $sysroot/usr/include/gnu
@@ -216,7 +217,7 @@
 gcc_static() {
 	init_compile
 	echo "Extracting: $gcc_tarball"
-	tar -xjf $SRC/$gcc_tarball
+	tar -xf $SRC/$gcc_tarball
 	echo "Configure: $GCC_STATIC_ARGS"
 	rm -rf gcc-static
 	mkdir gcc-static; cd gcc-static
@@ -233,7 +234,7 @@
 		--with-newlib \
 		--with-sysroot=$sysroot \
 		$GCC_STATIC_ARGS &&
-	make all-gcc all-target-libgcc || exit 1
+	make -j${THREADS} all-gcc all-target-libgcc || exit 1
 	make install-gcc install-target-libgcc
 	echo "cross: gcc-static compiled on: $(date)"
 }
@@ -244,7 +245,7 @@
 glibc() {
 	init_compile
 	echo "Extracting: $glibc_tarball"
-	tar -xjf $SRC/$glibc_tarball
+	tar -xf $SRC/$glibc_tarball
 	echo "Configure: $GLIBC_ARGS"
 	# Some arch may need glibc-ports and custom CFLAGS
 	case "$ARCH" in
@@ -255,7 +256,7 @@
 				-O $SRC/glibc-ports-$GLIBC_VERSION.tar.bz2 || exit 1
 			echo "Extracting: glibc-ports-$GLIBC_VERSION.tar.bz2"
 			rm -rf glibc-$GLIBC_VERSION/ports
-			tar -xjf $SRC/glibc-ports-$GLIBC_VERSION.tar.bz2
+			tar -xf $SRC/glibc-ports-$GLIBC_VERSION.tar.bz2
 			mv glibc-ports-$GLIBC_VERSION glibc-$GLIBC_VERSION/ports
 			libexec='/usr/lib/glibc' ;;
 		x86_64)
@@ -283,9 +284,9 @@
 		--host=$TARGET \
 		--with-headers=$sysroot/usr/include \
 		--with-binutils=$tools/bin \
-		--enable-kernel=2.6.32 \
+		--enable-kernel=3.12.0 \
 		$GLIBC_ARGS &&
-	make || exit 1
+	make -j${THREADS} || exit 1
 	make install_root=$sysroot install
 	# Symlink lib64 to lib
 	case "$ARCH" in
@@ -309,7 +310,7 @@
 		exit 1
 	fi
 	echo "Extracting: $eglibc_tarball"
-	tar -xjf $SRC/$eglibc_tarball || exit 1
+	tar -xf $SRC/$eglibc_tarball || exit 1
 	case "$ARCH" in
 		arm*)
 			if [ ! -d "$source/eglibc-ports-$EGLIBC_VERSION" ]; then
@@ -352,7 +353,7 @@
 		--without-cvs \
 		--cache-file=config.cache \
 		$EGLIBC_ARGS &&
-	make || exit 1
+	make -j${THREADS} || exit 1
 	make install_root=$sysroot install || exit 1
 	# Sep files for packaging
 	make install_root=$source/eglibc-install install || exit 1
@@ -366,7 +367,7 @@
 	init_compile
 	if [ ! -d "gcc-$GCC_VERSION" ]; then
 		echo "Extracting: $gcc_tarball"
-		tar -xjf $SRC/$gcc_tarball
+		tar -xf $SRC/$gcc_tarball
 	fi
 	echo "Configure: $GCC_FINAL_ARGS"
 	rm -rf gcc-build
@@ -390,7 +391,7 @@
 		--with-bugurl="http://bugs.slitaz.org/" \
 		--with-sysroot=$sysroot \
 		$GCC_FINAL_ARGS &&
-	make AS_FOR_TARGET="${TARGET}-as" \
+	make -j${THREADS} AS_FOR_TARGET="${TARGET}-as" \
 		LD_FOR_TARGET="${TARGET}-ld" || exit 1
 	make install
 	echo "cross: GCC final compiled on: $(date)"
@@ -404,14 +405,14 @@
 	[ "$clean" ] && rm -rf libtool-${LIBTOOL_VERSION}
 	if [ ! -d "libtool-$LIBTOOL_VERSION" ]; then
 		echo "Extracting: $libtool_tarball"
-		tar -xzf $SRC/$libtool_tarball
+		tar -xf $SRC/$libtool_tarball
 	fi
 	cd libtool-${LIBTOOL_VERSION}
 	./configure \
 		--prefix=$tools \
 		--host=${TARGET} \
 		--program-prefix=${TARGET}- &&
-	make || exit 1
+	make -j${THREADS} || exit 1
 	make install
 	echo "cross: Cross libtool compiled on: $(date)"
 }
@@ -526,10 +527,10 @@
 		echo "Compile start: $(date)" | tee $logdir/compile.log
 		download_src
 		binutils 2>&1 | tee $logdir/binutils.log
+		linux_headers 2>&1 | tee $logdir/linux-headers.log
 		case "$ARCH" in
 			x86_64) glibc_headers 2>&1 | tee $logdir/glibc-headers.log ;;
 		esac
-		linux_headers 2>&1 | tee $logdir/linux-headers.log
 		gcc_static 2>&1 | tee $logdir/gcc-static.log
 		case "$ARCH" in
 			arm*)  eglibc 2>&1 | tee $logdir/eglibc.log ;;

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