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  1. <sect1 id="ch01-how">
  2. <title>How things are going to be done</title>
  3. <?dbhtml filename="how.html" dir="chapter01"?>
  4. <para>You are going to build your LFS system by using a previously installed
  5. Linux distribution (such as Debian, Mandrake, Red Hat, or SuSE). This existing
  6. Linux system (the host) will be used as a starting point, because you will need
  7. programs like a compiler, linker and shell to build the new system. Normally
  8. all the required tools are available if you selected <quote>development</quote>
  9. as one of the options when you installed your distribution.</para>
  10. <para>In Chapter 3 you will first create a new Linux native partition and file
  11. system, the place where your new LFS system will be compiled and installed. Then
  12. in Chapter 4 you download all the packages and patches required to build an LFS
  13. system, and store them on the new file system.</para>
  14. <para>Chapter 5 will then discuss the installation of a number of packages that
  15. will form the basic development suite (or toolchain) which is used to build the
  16. actual system in Chapter 6. Some of these packages are needed to resolve
  17. circular dependencies. For example, to compile a compiler you need a
  18. compiler.</para>
  19. <para>The first thing to be done in Chapter 5 is build a first pass of the
  20. toolchain, which is made up of Binutils and GCC. The programs from these
  21. packages will be linked statically in order for them to be used independently
  22. of the host system. The second thing to do is build Glibc, the C library. Glibc
  23. will be compiled by the toolchain programs we just built in the first
  24. pass. The third thing to do is build a second pass of the toolchain. This time
  25. the toolchain will be dynamically linked against the newly built Glibc. The
  26. remaining Chapter 5 packages are all built using this second pass toolchain and
  27. dynamically linked against the new host-independent Glibc. When this is done,
  28. the LFS installation process will no longer depend on the host distribution,
  29. with the exception of the running kernel.</para>
  30. <para>You may be asking yourself <quote>that seems like a lot of work, just to
  31. get away from my host distribution?</quote>. A full technical and in-depth
  32. explanation is provided at the start of Chapter 5, including some notes on the
  33. differences between statically and dynamically linked programs.</para>
  34. <para>In Chapter 6 your real LFS system will be built. The chroot (change root)
  35. program is used to enter a virtual environment and start a new shell whose root
  36. directory will be set to the LFS partition. This is very similar to rebooting
  37. and instructing the kernel to mount the LFS partition as the root partition.
  38. The reason that you don't actually reboot, but instead chroot, is that creating
  39. a bootable system requires additional work which isn't necessary just yet.
  40. Another advantage is that chrooting allows you to continue using the host while
  41. LFS is being built. While waiting for package compilation to complete, you can
  42. simply switch to a different VC (Virtual Console) or X desktop and continue
  43. using the computer as you normally would.</para>
  44. <para>When all the software from Chapter 6 is installed, the temporary tools
  45. built in Chapter 5 are removed. In Chapters 7, 8 and 9 the installation will
  46. then be finalized. The bootscripts are set up in Chapter 7, the kernel and
  47. bootloader are set up in Chapter 8, and Chapter 9 has some pointers to help
  48. you after you finish the book. Then, finally, you're ready to reboot your
  49. computer into your new LFS system.</para>
  50. <para>This is the process in a nutshell. Detailed information on the steps you
  51. will take are discussed in the chapters and package descriptions as you
  52. progress through them. If something isn't completely clear now, don't worry,
  53. everything will fall into place soon.</para>
  54. <para>Please read Chapter 2 carefully as it explains a few important things you
  55. should be aware of before you begin to work through Chapters 5 and
  56. beyond.</para>
  57. </sect1>