1 | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
|
---|
2 | <!DOCTYPE sect1 PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
|
---|
3 | "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.5/docbookx.dtd" [
|
---|
4 | <!ENTITY % general-entities SYSTEM "../general.ent">
|
---|
5 | %general-entities;
|
---|
6 | ]>
|
---|
7 |
|
---|
8 | <sect1 id="pre-why">
|
---|
9 | <?dbhtml filename="package-choices.html"?>
|
---|
10 |
|
---|
11 | <title>Rationale for Packages in the Book</title>
|
---|
12 |
|
---|
13 | <para>As stated earlier, the goal of LFS is to build a complete and usable
|
---|
14 | foundation-level system. This includes all packages needed to replicate
|
---|
15 | itself while providing a relatively minimal base from which to customize
|
---|
16 | a more complete system based on the choices of the user. This does not
|
---|
17 | mean that LFS is the smallest system possible. Several important packages
|
---|
18 | are included that are not strictly required. The lists below document the
|
---|
19 | rationale for each package in the book.</para>
|
---|
20 |
|
---|
21 | <itemizedlist>
|
---|
22 |
|
---|
23 | <listitem>
|
---|
24 | <para>Acl</para>
|
---|
25 |
|
---|
26 | <para>This package contains utilities to administer Access
|
---|
27 | Control Lists, which are used to define more fine-grained
|
---|
28 | discretionary access rights for files and directories.
|
---|
29 | </para>
|
---|
30 | </listitem>
|
---|
31 |
|
---|
32 | <listitem>
|
---|
33 | <para>Attr</para>
|
---|
34 |
|
---|
35 | <para>This package contains programs for administering
|
---|
36 | extended attributes on filesystem objects.
|
---|
37 | </para>
|
---|
38 | </listitem>
|
---|
39 |
|
---|
40 | <listitem>
|
---|
41 | <para>Autoconf</para>
|
---|
42 |
|
---|
43 | <para>This package contains programs for producing shell scripts that
|
---|
44 | can automatically configure source code from a developer's
|
---|
45 | template. It is often needed to rebuild a package after updates
|
---|
46 | to the build procedures.</para>
|
---|
47 | </listitem>
|
---|
48 |
|
---|
49 | <listitem>
|
---|
50 | <para>Automake</para>
|
---|
51 |
|
---|
52 | <para>This package contains programs for generating Make files from
|
---|
53 | a template. It is often needed to rebuild a package after updates
|
---|
54 | to the build procedures.</para>
|
---|
55 | </listitem>
|
---|
56 |
|
---|
57 | <listitem>
|
---|
58 | <para>Bash</para>
|
---|
59 |
|
---|
60 | <para>This package satisfies an LSB core requirement to provide
|
---|
61 | a Bourne Shell interface to the system. It was chosen over
|
---|
62 | other shell packages because of its common usage and extensive
|
---|
63 | capabilities beyond basic shell functions.</para>
|
---|
64 | </listitem>
|
---|
65 |
|
---|
66 | <listitem>
|
---|
67 | <para>Bc</para>
|
---|
68 |
|
---|
69 | <para>This package provides an arbitrary precision numeric processing language.
|
---|
70 | It satisfies a requirement needed when building the Linux kernel.</para>
|
---|
71 | </listitem>
|
---|
72 |
|
---|
73 | <listitem>
|
---|
74 | <para>Binutils</para>
|
---|
75 |
|
---|
76 | <para>This package contains a linker, an assembler, and other
|
---|
77 | tools for handling object files. The programs in this package are
|
---|
78 | needed to compile most of the packages in an LFS system and beyond.</para>
|
---|
79 | </listitem>
|
---|
80 |
|
---|
81 | <listitem>
|
---|
82 | <para>Bison</para>
|
---|
83 |
|
---|
84 | <para>This package contains the GNU version of yacc (Yet Another
|
---|
85 | Compiler Compiler) needed to build several other LFS programs.</para>
|
---|
86 | </listitem>
|
---|
87 |
|
---|
88 | <listitem>
|
---|
89 | <para>Bzip2</para>
|
---|
90 |
|
---|
91 | <para>This package contains programs for compressing and decompressing
|
---|
92 | files. It is required to decompress many LFS packages.</para>
|
---|
93 | </listitem>
|
---|
94 |
|
---|
95 | <listitem>
|
---|
96 | <para>Check</para>
|
---|
97 |
|
---|
98 | <para>This package contains a test harness for other programs.
|
---|
99 | It is only installed in the temporary toolchain.</para>
|
---|
100 | </listitem>
|
---|
101 |
|
---|
102 | <listitem>
|
---|
103 | <para>Coreutils</para>
|
---|
104 |
|
---|
105 | <para>This package contains a number of essential programs for viewing
|
---|
106 | and manipulating files and directories. These programs are needed for
|
---|
107 | command line file management, and are necessary for the installation
|
---|
108 | procedures of every package in LFS.</para>
|
---|
109 | </listitem>
|
---|
110 |
|
---|
111 | <listitem revision="systemd">
|
---|
112 | <para>D-Bus</para>
|
---|
113 |
|
---|
114 | <para>This package contains programs to implement a message bus system,
|
---|
115 | which a simple way for applications to talk to one another.
|
---|
116 | </para>
|
---|
117 | </listitem>
|
---|
118 |
|
---|
119 | <listitem>
|
---|
120 | <para>DejaGNU</para>
|
---|
121 |
|
---|
122 | <para>This package contains a framework for testing other programs.
|
---|
123 | It is only installed in the temporary toolchain.</para>
|
---|
124 | </listitem>
|
---|
125 |
|
---|
126 | <listitem>
|
---|
127 | <para>Diffutils</para>
|
---|
128 |
|
---|
129 | <para>This package contains programs that show the differences
|
---|
130 | between files or directories. These programs can be used to create
|
---|
131 | patches, and are also used in many packages' build procedures.</para>
|
---|
132 | </listitem>
|
---|
133 |
|
---|
134 | <listitem>
|
---|
135 | <para>E2fsprogs</para>
|
---|
136 |
|
---|
137 | <para>This package contains the utilities for handling the ext2, ext3
|
---|
138 | and ext4 file systems. These are the most common and thoroughly
|
---|
139 | tested file systems that Linux supports.</para>
|
---|
140 | </listitem>
|
---|
141 |
|
---|
142 | <listitem revision="sysv">
|
---|
143 | <para>Eudev</para>
|
---|
144 |
|
---|
145 | <para>This package is a device manager. It dynamically controls the entries
|
---|
146 | in the /dev directory as devices are added or removed from the system.
|
---|
147 | </para>
|
---|
148 | </listitem>
|
---|
149 |
|
---|
150 | <listitem>
|
---|
151 | <para>Expat</para>
|
---|
152 |
|
---|
153 | <para>This package contains a relatively small XML parsing library. It
|
---|
154 | is required by the XML::Parser Perl module.</para>
|
---|
155 | </listitem>
|
---|
156 |
|
---|
157 | <listitem>
|
---|
158 | <para>Expect</para>
|
---|
159 |
|
---|
160 | <para>This package contains a program for carrying out scripted
|
---|
161 | dialogues with other interactive programs. It is commonly used
|
---|
162 | for testing other packages. It is only installed in the temporary
|
---|
163 | toolchain.</para>
|
---|
164 | </listitem>
|
---|
165 |
|
---|
166 | <listitem>
|
---|
167 | <para>File</para>
|
---|
168 |
|
---|
169 | <para>This package contains a utility for determining the type of a
|
---|
170 | given file or files. A few packages need it to build.</para>
|
---|
171 | </listitem>
|
---|
172 |
|
---|
173 | <listitem>
|
---|
174 | <para>Findutils</para>
|
---|
175 |
|
---|
176 | <para>This package contains programs to find files in a file system.
|
---|
177 | It is used in many packages' build scripts.</para>
|
---|
178 | </listitem>
|
---|
179 |
|
---|
180 | <listitem>
|
---|
181 | <para>Flex</para>
|
---|
182 |
|
---|
183 | <para>This package contains a utility for generating programs that
|
---|
184 | recognize patterns in text. It is the GNU version of the lex
|
---|
185 | (lexical analyzer) program. It is required to build several
|
---|
186 | LFS packages.</para>
|
---|
187 | </listitem>
|
---|
188 |
|
---|
189 | <listitem>
|
---|
190 | <para>Gawk</para>
|
---|
191 |
|
---|
192 | <para>This package contains programs for manipulating text files.
|
---|
193 | It is the GNU version of awk (Aho-Weinberg-Kernighan). It is used in
|
---|
194 | many other packages' build scripts.</para>
|
---|
195 | </listitem>
|
---|
196 |
|
---|
197 | <listitem>
|
---|
198 | <para>Gcc</para>
|
---|
199 |
|
---|
200 | <para>This package is the Gnu Compiler Collection. It contains the
|
---|
201 | C and C++ compilers as well as several others not built by LFS.
|
---|
202 | </para>
|
---|
203 | </listitem>
|
---|
204 |
|
---|
205 | <listitem>
|
---|
206 | <para>GDBM</para>
|
---|
207 |
|
---|
208 | <para>This package contains the GNU Database Manager library. It
|
---|
209 | is used by one other LFS package, Man-DB.</para>
|
---|
210 | </listitem>
|
---|
211 |
|
---|
212 | <listitem>
|
---|
213 | <para>Gettext</para>
|
---|
214 |
|
---|
215 | <para>This package contains utilities and libraries for
|
---|
216 | internationalization and localization of numerous packages.</para>
|
---|
217 | </listitem>
|
---|
218 |
|
---|
219 | <listitem>
|
---|
220 | <para>Glibc</para>
|
---|
221 |
|
---|
222 | <para>This package contains the main C library. Linux programs would
|
---|
223 | not run without it.</para>
|
---|
224 | </listitem>
|
---|
225 |
|
---|
226 | <listitem>
|
---|
227 | <para>GMP</para>
|
---|
228 |
|
---|
229 | <para>This package contains math libraries that provide useful functions
|
---|
230 | for arbitrary precision arithmetic. It is required to build Gcc.</para>
|
---|
231 | </listitem>
|
---|
232 |
|
---|
233 | <listitem>
|
---|
234 | <para>Gperf</para>
|
---|
235 |
|
---|
236 | <para>This package contains a program that generates a perfect hash
|
---|
237 | function from a key set. It is required for Eudev.</para>
|
---|
238 | </listitem>
|
---|
239 |
|
---|
240 | <listitem>
|
---|
241 | <para>Grep</para>
|
---|
242 |
|
---|
243 | <para>This package contains programs for searching through files. These
|
---|
244 | programs are used by most packages' build scripts.</para>
|
---|
245 | </listitem>
|
---|
246 |
|
---|
247 | <listitem>
|
---|
248 | <para>Groff</para>
|
---|
249 |
|
---|
250 | <para>This package contains programs for processing and formatting text.
|
---|
251 | One important function of these programs is to format man pages.</para>
|
---|
252 | </listitem>
|
---|
253 |
|
---|
254 | <listitem>
|
---|
255 | <para>GRUB</para>
|
---|
256 |
|
---|
257 | <para>This package is the Grand Unified Boot Loader. It is one
|
---|
258 | of several boot loaders available, but is the most flexible.
|
---|
259 | </para>
|
---|
260 | </listitem>
|
---|
261 |
|
---|
262 | <listitem>
|
---|
263 | <para>Gzip</para>
|
---|
264 |
|
---|
265 | <para>This package contains programs for compressing and
|
---|
266 | decompressing files. It is needed to decompress many packages in LFS
|
---|
267 | and beyond.</para>
|
---|
268 | </listitem>
|
---|
269 |
|
---|
270 | <listitem>
|
---|
271 | <para>Iana-etc</para>
|
---|
272 |
|
---|
273 | <para>This package provides data for network services and protocols.
|
---|
274 | It is needed to enable proper networking capabilities.</para>
|
---|
275 | </listitem>
|
---|
276 |
|
---|
277 | <listitem>
|
---|
278 | <para>Inetutils</para>
|
---|
279 |
|
---|
280 | <para>This package contains programs for basic network
|
---|
281 | administration.</para>
|
---|
282 | </listitem>
|
---|
283 |
|
---|
284 | <listitem>
|
---|
285 | <para>Intltool</para>
|
---|
286 |
|
---|
287 | <para>This package contains tools for extracting translatable
|
---|
288 | strings from source files.</para>
|
---|
289 | </listitem>
|
---|
290 |
|
---|
291 | <listitem>
|
---|
292 | <para>IProute2</para>
|
---|
293 |
|
---|
294 | <para>This package contains programs for basic and advanced IPv4 and
|
---|
295 | IPv6 networking. It was chosen over the other common network
|
---|
296 | tools package (net-tools) for its IPv6 capabilities. </para>
|
---|
297 | </listitem>
|
---|
298 |
|
---|
299 | <listitem>
|
---|
300 | <para>Kbd</para>
|
---|
301 |
|
---|
302 | <para>This package contains key-table files, keyboard utilities
|
---|
303 | for non-US keyboards, and a number of console fonts.</para>
|
---|
304 | </listitem>
|
---|
305 |
|
---|
306 | <listitem>
|
---|
307 | <para>Kmod</para>
|
---|
308 |
|
---|
309 | <para>This package contains programs needed to administer Linux
|
---|
310 | kernel modules.</para>
|
---|
311 | </listitem>
|
---|
312 |
|
---|
313 | <listitem>
|
---|
314 | <para>Less</para>
|
---|
315 |
|
---|
316 | <para>This package contains a very nice text file viewer that
|
---|
317 | allows scrolling up or down when viewing a file. It is also used by
|
---|
318 | Man-DB for viewing manpages.</para>
|
---|
319 | </listitem>
|
---|
320 |
|
---|
321 | <listitem>
|
---|
322 | <para>Libcap</para>
|
---|
323 |
|
---|
324 | <para>This package implements the user-space interfaces to
|
---|
325 | the POSIX 1003.1e capabilities available in Linux kernels.
|
---|
326 | </para>
|
---|
327 | </listitem>
|
---|
328 |
|
---|
329 | <listitem>
|
---|
330 | <para>Libpipeline</para>
|
---|
331 |
|
---|
332 | <para>The Libpipeline package contains a library for manipulating
|
---|
333 | pipelines of subprocesses in a flexible and convenient way. It is
|
---|
334 | required by the Man-DB package.</para>
|
---|
335 | </listitem>
|
---|
336 |
|
---|
337 | <listitem>
|
---|
338 | <para>Libtool</para>
|
---|
339 |
|
---|
340 | <para>This package contains the GNU generic library support
|
---|
341 | script. It wraps the complexity of using shared libraries in a
|
---|
342 | consistent, portable interface. It is needed by the test
|
---|
343 | suites in other LFS packages.</para>
|
---|
344 | </listitem>
|
---|
345 |
|
---|
346 | <listitem>
|
---|
347 | <para>Linux Kernel</para>
|
---|
348 |
|
---|
349 | <para>This package is the Operating System. It is the Linux in
|
---|
350 | the GNU/Linux environment.</para>
|
---|
351 | </listitem>
|
---|
352 |
|
---|
353 | <listitem>
|
---|
354 | <para>M4</para>
|
---|
355 |
|
---|
356 | <para>This package contains a general text macro processor useful
|
---|
357 | as a build tool for other programs.</para>
|
---|
358 | </listitem>
|
---|
359 |
|
---|
360 | <listitem>
|
---|
361 | <para>Make</para>
|
---|
362 |
|
---|
363 | <para>This package contains a program for directing the building
|
---|
364 | of packages. It is required by almost every package in LFS.</para>
|
---|
365 | </listitem>
|
---|
366 |
|
---|
367 | <listitem>
|
---|
368 | <para>Man-DB</para>
|
---|
369 |
|
---|
370 | <para>This package contains programs for finding and viewing man pages.
|
---|
371 | It was chosen instead of the <application>man</application> package
|
---|
372 | due to superior internationalization capabilities. It supplies
|
---|
373 | the man program.</para>
|
---|
374 | </listitem>
|
---|
375 |
|
---|
376 | <listitem>
|
---|
377 | <para>Man-pages</para>
|
---|
378 |
|
---|
379 | <para>This package contains the actual contents of the basic
|
---|
380 | Linux man pages.</para>
|
---|
381 | </listitem>
|
---|
382 |
|
---|
383 | <listitem>
|
---|
384 | <para>MPC</para>
|
---|
385 |
|
---|
386 | <para>This package contains functions for the arithmetic of complex
|
---|
387 | numbers. It is required by Gcc.</para>
|
---|
388 | </listitem>
|
---|
389 |
|
---|
390 | <listitem>
|
---|
391 | <para>MPFR</para>
|
---|
392 |
|
---|
393 | <para>This package contains functions for multiple precision
|
---|
394 | arithmetic. It is required by Gcc.</para>
|
---|
395 | </listitem>
|
---|
396 |
|
---|
397 | <listitem>
|
---|
398 | <para>Ncurses</para>
|
---|
399 |
|
---|
400 | <para>This package contains libraries for terminal-independent
|
---|
401 | handling of character screens. It is often used to provide
|
---|
402 | cursor control for a menuing system. It is needed by a number of
|
---|
403 | packages in LFS.</para>
|
---|
404 | </listitem>
|
---|
405 |
|
---|
406 | <listitem>
|
---|
407 | <para>Patch</para>
|
---|
408 |
|
---|
409 | <para>This package contains a program for modifying or creating files by
|
---|
410 | applying a <emphasis>patch</emphasis> file typically created
|
---|
411 | by the <application>diff</application> program. It is needed by
|
---|
412 | the build procedure for several LFS packages.</para>
|
---|
413 | </listitem>
|
---|
414 |
|
---|
415 | <listitem>
|
---|
416 | <para>Perl</para>
|
---|
417 |
|
---|
418 | <para>This package is an interpreter for the runtime language
|
---|
419 | PERL. It is needed for the installation and test suites of several LFS
|
---|
420 | packages.</para>
|
---|
421 | </listitem>
|
---|
422 |
|
---|
423 | <listitem>
|
---|
424 | <para>Pkg-config</para>
|
---|
425 |
|
---|
426 | <para>This package provides a program to return meta-data about an
|
---|
427 | installed library or package.</para>
|
---|
428 | </listitem>
|
---|
429 |
|
---|
430 | <listitem>
|
---|
431 | <para>Procps-NG</para>
|
---|
432 |
|
---|
433 | <para>This package contains programs for monitoring processes. These
|
---|
434 | programs are useful for system administration, and are also used by
|
---|
435 | the LFS Bootscripts.</para>
|
---|
436 | </listitem>
|
---|
437 |
|
---|
438 | <listitem>
|
---|
439 | <para>Psmisc</para>
|
---|
440 |
|
---|
441 | <para>This package contains programs for displaying information
|
---|
442 | about running processes. These programs are useful for system
|
---|
443 | administration.</para>
|
---|
444 | </listitem>
|
---|
445 |
|
---|
446 | <listitem>
|
---|
447 | <para>Readline</para>
|
---|
448 |
|
---|
449 | <para>This package is a set of libraries that offers command-line
|
---|
450 | editing and history capabilities. It is used by Bash.</para>
|
---|
451 | </listitem>
|
---|
452 |
|
---|
453 | <listitem>
|
---|
454 | <para>Sed</para>
|
---|
455 |
|
---|
456 | <para>This package allows editing of text without opening it in a
|
---|
457 | text editor. It is also needed by most LFS packages' configure
|
---|
458 | scripts.</para>
|
---|
459 | </listitem>
|
---|
460 |
|
---|
461 | <listitem>
|
---|
462 | <para>Shadow</para>
|
---|
463 |
|
---|
464 | <para>This package contains programs for handling passwords
|
---|
465 | in a secure way.</para>
|
---|
466 | </listitem>
|
---|
467 |
|
---|
468 | <listitem revision="sysv">
|
---|
469 | <para>Sysklogd</para>
|
---|
470 |
|
---|
471 | <para>This package contains programs for logging system messages,
|
---|
472 | such as those given by the kernel or daemon processes when unusual
|
---|
473 | events occur.</para>
|
---|
474 | </listitem>
|
---|
475 |
|
---|
476 | <listitem revision="systemd">
|
---|
477 | <para>Systemd</para>
|
---|
478 |
|
---|
479 | <para>This package provides and <application>init</application> program
|
---|
480 | and several additional boot and system control capabilities as an
|
---|
481 | alternative to Sysvinit. It is used by many commercial distributions.
|
---|
482 | In LFS it is installed side-by-side with Sysvinit to provide the user with
|
---|
483 | alternative boot systems for comparison.</para>
|
---|
484 | </listitem>
|
---|
485 |
|
---|
486 | <listitem revision="sysv">
|
---|
487 | <para>Sysvinit</para>
|
---|
488 |
|
---|
489 | <para>This package provides the <application>init</application>
|
---|
490 | program, which is the parent of all other processes on the Linux
|
---|
491 | system. </para>
|
---|
492 | </listitem>
|
---|
493 |
|
---|
494 | <listitem>
|
---|
495 | <para>Tar</para>
|
---|
496 |
|
---|
497 | <para>This package provides archiving and extraction capabilities
|
---|
498 | of virtually all packages used in LFS.</para>
|
---|
499 | </listitem>
|
---|
500 |
|
---|
501 | <listitem>
|
---|
502 | <para>Tcl</para>
|
---|
503 |
|
---|
504 | <para>This package contains the Tool Command Language used
|
---|
505 | in many test suites in LFS packages. It is only installed in
|
---|
506 | the temporary toolchain.</para>
|
---|
507 | </listitem>
|
---|
508 |
|
---|
509 | <listitem>
|
---|
510 | <para>Texinfo</para>
|
---|
511 |
|
---|
512 | <para>This package contains programs for reading, writing, and
|
---|
513 | converting info pages. It is used in the installation
|
---|
514 | procedures of many LFS packages.</para>
|
---|
515 | </listitem>
|
---|
516 |
|
---|
517 | <listitem>
|
---|
518 | <para>Util-linux</para>
|
---|
519 |
|
---|
520 | <para>This package contains miscellaneous utility programs.
|
---|
521 | Among them are utilities for handling file systems, consoles,
|
---|
522 | partitions, and messages.</para>
|
---|
523 | </listitem>
|
---|
524 |
|
---|
525 | <listitem>
|
---|
526 | <para>Vim</para>
|
---|
527 |
|
---|
528 | <para>This package contains an editor. It was chosen because of its
|
---|
529 | compatibility with the classic vi editor and its huge number of powerful
|
---|
530 | capabilities. An editor is a very personal choice for
|
---|
531 | many users and any other editor could be substituted if desired.</para>
|
---|
532 | </listitem>
|
---|
533 |
|
---|
534 | <listitem>
|
---|
535 | <para>XML::Parser</para>
|
---|
536 |
|
---|
537 | <para>This package is a Perl module that interfaces with Expat.</para>
|
---|
538 | </listitem>
|
---|
539 |
|
---|
540 | <listitem>
|
---|
541 | <para>XZ Utils</para>
|
---|
542 |
|
---|
543 | <para>This package contains programs for compressing and decompressing
|
---|
544 | files. It provides the highest compression generally available
|
---|
545 | and is useful for decompressing packages in XZ or LZMA format.</para>
|
---|
546 | </listitem>
|
---|
547 |
|
---|
548 | <listitem>
|
---|
549 | <para>Zlib</para>
|
---|
550 |
|
---|
551 | <para>This package contains compression and decompression routines
|
---|
552 | used by some programs.</para>
|
---|
553 | </listitem>
|
---|
554 |
|
---|
555 | </itemizedlist>
|
---|
556 |
|
---|
557 | </sect1>
|
---|
558 |
|
---|