1. Is it really true that one can build an entire LFS system from scratch if one is familiar with Linux in about two days or so ? I have a Pentium 333 MHz machine and a few informed me that a build of LFS takes about 6 months or so. I was very discouraged and put the project for very long term.

2. For starters it would be very helpful if there was an LFS manual specifically to build Damn Small Linux from scratch. This would be very helpful to try quickly and get a practical good working grasp of LFS for newbies. This will be like a great working example.

3. Also, is LFS good for rpm type as well as slackware type distros ?

4. How does The recently reviewed T2 differ from Gentoo and LFS ? T2 Site: http://www.exactcode.de/t2/about.html

Eagerly looking forward to responses/clarifications.

Vijay

who ever told you 6 months was full of crap.................!
since you have a slow machine..........3 days might be the time you need.............

6 months? Hehe.. I wouldn't listen to that persons advice any longer. 3 days tops if you stick with it and keep working on it. I did mine a long time ago on a 400mhz celeron, took me about a day and a half, but that's because I don't sleep much.

Thanks for the response.

I need some time to get over the initial discouragement.

Interms of making updates easy etc., would you recommend Gentoo over LFS ? Any other related comments/info. welcome.

Vijay

Here's how I compare the two in really short terms:

Gentoo: Install this if you want a system customized down to the last package to suit and fit your system. This distro is great for personaly customizing your machine and having distro compiled specifically for its hardware architecture, etc.

LFS: Install this if you really want to know what the basics are in what runs Linux. Also this is like Gentoo but in the slow fashion. You do everything, you even do the startup scripts for the system and so on, so your learning how Linux works down to the last specific detail it may have.

The two days that you mentioned is just for LFS correct ? It is not for a full working distro I would assume. How much time would it take to have a full working distro that is LFS+BLFS ?

Thanks.

Vijay

Yeah - it's kind of like you take a block of Linux and sculpt it down with Gentoo - get it in the shape you want. And then you take little bits of Linux and glue them together like building a model ship out of toothpicks with LFS. And, as far as updates, I never got fully into the LFS community, so there could easily be things I dont know about, but I gather it's as manual as the initial build. Whereas, with Gentoo, assuming nothing breaks and your system doesn't get hosed, the package management gear makes it extremely easy (if not exactly fast) to stay updated.

Try 'em both, if you want. I did and they're both very cool. My 2 & 3 of the top three distros.

They're really very different, though. Both source-based, yes, but otherwise very different.

Crap. That's what I get for leaving the computer for awhile and not hitting refresh. Missed your post.

That was directed at trickykid, but I could throw in my one and a half cents - I wouldn't worry with speed and LFS. It should be as much a learning experience as anything else. So while 6 months is a hell of a stretch, I would advise taking your time. I suppose it'd be possible to do X and everything else in two days at full speed on a fast box, but trickykid probably had in mind the base system. Another day or two is more plausible, depending on what all you want.

Yeah, two days for base system.. and hell, what else do you need besides the few networking commands and few CLI programs that take no time to get going..

You are a moderator here, with excellent LFS experience, so two days for you probably means 4 to 8 days for me. Also, one needs X and all the other programs.

Vijay

Here is another side question. If one can build an LFS system so fast, how come newer versions of distros take so longer to come. Specially, since they are handled by those already with experience in the field/distro.

Makes me feel that after full BLFS the system that one will have is still not as good enough as a regular distro, specially in regards to security etc.,

Related comments welcome.

Vijay

Its probably the same as every other distro, lots of testing and such before making it live and available.

Once, I make my complete BLFS, can I burn an ISO image of it to CD ? How can I do that ? Can this then later be installed on other PCs ? Thanks.

Vijay

Yes.

mkisofs and cdrecord.

Depends on the type of computer in part. I could say a definite 'no' if you build with -march=i686 and try to install on a Mac but, beyond that, I couldn't really say. That gets perilously near to actual 'distro building' rather than just a custom system. Might want to google it or check the LFS sites and lists - may be a 'hint' on it. And, if you've got the system, the image, and spare computer, there's nothing to prevent experimentation.

Thanks for the response. That iso would be just for me. Incase my system crashes or I need an LFS on another PC, I don't wish to rebuild it. Specially, if it was an urgent need.

Vijay