Post-LFS and Pre-BLFS Questions
 

I have followed LFS 7.2 book a few times now, and I think this is my third time finishing it, and this time I booted and it worked without any errors from my first boot. Now I plan to follow BLFS SVN, but before starting with it, I would like to ask you several questions.

Questions:

1) In my earlier LFS builds, when I booted successfully to my LFS system, I was getting to my shell after the login, and I had something like this: bash-4.2#, but now when I log in I have the following line: -bash-4.2#. It is nearly the same and my bash seems to work okay, I don't know whether that early dash makes a problem or not, but it really annoys me. What can I have written incorrectly, and how can I change it? Also two more sub-question: Is there anywhere some kind of tests that I can perform to be completely sure that my LFS system is working as it needs to work? Also what should I follow and do before starting with BLFS and after successfully finishing with LFS 7.2?

2) My laptop's keyboard has German layout, so it is a German keyboard, and some of the signs, characters and letters are mixed. But I'm used to using English keyboard, even in my Windows and Linux Ubuntu systems I use English keyboard layout. But when I log in to my LFS, my keyboard automatically has the German layout and keyboard settings, which also annoys me. Is it possible for me to somehow change it to English keyboard layout and settings in my LFS?

3) I don't know whether it is useful at that point, but I really would like to create an .iso file for my LFS system. Same thing like other operating systems has. Is it possible to create it at that phase, if yes, how can I do it, if no, when I will be able to do it?

4) I would like to create some kind of multi-platform graphical operating system, that's why I plan to continue with BLFS. I have an Intel i5 processor on my laptop, and I have build my LFS using 32-bit Ubuntu as a host machine. I therefore, created a 32-bit LFS system. But after I finish with BLFS, I would like it to work with Intel, AMD, ARM and maybe some other processors and also add 64-bit support. How can I achieve it? For 64-bit system, do I have to create LFS again using a 64-bit host Linux system? About adding support to other kind of processors (like AMD, ARM), should I enable these options from kernel configuration, or I will need to recompile everything in those systems? I know that there is a Cross Linux From Scratch (CLFS). Will it help me achieve my purpose? Should I have used it at the first place and not used LFS 7.2, or I can still use it and add some support to my existing LFS system?

5) When building BLFS packages now, I should build them from my host machines chroot environment that was used for building the LFS, or I should build them when booted from my currently working LFS system? If I have to build them from my newly build LFS system, will downloading the needed packages from my host machine using wget to my LFS directory cause any problems?

Sorry if some of my questions seem stupid or their answers seem obvious. I am not perfectly experienced with Linux, I have started using it for a few months now.

Hi

I cant answer Q1 but I,m sure someone can.
Q2, did you install the english keymap in the glibc chapter? if so did you set it up in Chapter 7.10
Q3 Dont think you can make an iso, What I do is make a "dd" copy, not quite the same but I have used that on other machines, Bit of fiddling with a couple of files.
Q4 i,ll pass
Q5 If you install gpm, links wget as you mentioned that should be all you need. You can mount the partition of host into lfs then access the files from there.
Instaed of chrooting into lfs to build blfs why not create your user and build on the booted system.

Hope this helps abit

About Q5, yes, I plan to build it from my LFS system. But what I asked was, if I download the packages from my host machine to the directory having my LFS, will it be any problem, I mean just downloading the packages from the host, and installing using the LFS system.

That wont be a problem as long as they are owned by the user.

Hi

Re Q1 not sure of any tests to check if lfs is built ok, but run version-check against it, and as long as the commands used in terminal work is a start.

When building BLFS inside the LFS system, I should build everything using a new user, or I can use the root user? While I see in BLFS it sometimes says now as root execute (something). Or I just change between my new user and the root user all the time?

As the lfs system is the base of the system why not create your user which will be on the final system.
As you mention the packages are built with user and installed as root so you will need both.

If you install links " a browser for terminal" you wont have to use the host to get the packages and you can copy and paste from it

By the way, regarding the Q1, when I type su in my -bash-4.2#, it deleted the earlier dash, and I get only bash-4.2#
On the other hand I created a new user, so I guess that when I need to build I will use my new user, and when I have to install I will need to do su - root to switch to my root and then install them.

Or open 2nd terminal (tty) as root, but yes.

FYI

I normally do a dd of lfs just incase and also at other relative points along the way.

By the way spiky0011, I solved the second question, regarding the keyboard, as you said I made changes in section 7.10, now it works. Thanks.

Anyway, the bash prompt will be completely different when you get around to creating the bash startup files in chapter three of the BLFS book.