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> |
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> I'm trying to get to the bottom of where the /usr/src/linux symlink |
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> should |
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> point to. All the gentoo instructions say it should be to the sources for |
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> the current kernel, and I've read on the gentoo forums that certain |
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> modules |
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> won't work correctly without that. However, the kernel README |
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> specifically |
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> states that the symlink should point to the headers your libraries link |
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> against, not the current kernel. Should I (strictly speaking) emerge |
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> glibc |
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> after I install a new kernel? |
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|
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No. The kernel headers are rather sensibly maintained by the linux-headers |
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(or linux26-headers) packages in portage, hence packages that are |
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sensitive to the kernel headers, such as glibc, will not be overly |
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concerned with what your "kernel du jour" happens to be. |
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|
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Two exceptions I can think of to that statement are: |
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|
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1) Building NPTL in glibc (that part alone seems to make use of the |
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headers provided by the kernel at /usr/src/linux, at least it did last |
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time I checked) |
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2) Building kernel modules outside of the tree (nvidia-kernel for instance) |
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|
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Therefore, the docs are quite right. Keep /usr/src/linux as a symlink |
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pointing to the sources for your currently running kernel as a general |
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rule. You won't need to update glibc on account of building a new kernel, |
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however I would suggest you rebuild glibc if sys-kernel/linux-headers is |
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upgraded at any point :) |
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|
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The latest stable versions of either package at the time of writing is: |
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|
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* sys-kernel/linux-headers-2.4.21-r1 |
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* sys-kernel/linux26-headers-2.6.8.1 |
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|
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_Never_ build glibc against headers that are newer than a kernel that you |
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intend to build and run (an unlikely event in any case). If you never use |
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2.4, then it is safe to migrate to linux26-headers and rebuild glibc |
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assuming the aforementioned caveat is born in mind. |
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|
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Cheers, |
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|
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--Kerin Francis Millar |
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