Compilers For The Zaurus, Compiling should be easy! Options

[snowfarthing]

Zaurus seems to lack straightforward tools for development.

This last couple of weeks I tried to compile an altered version of IRK (so that I could type Dvorak on my Targus and experiment with the layout). I didn't get very far, though, because I couldn't figure out what I needed to set up a compiling environment in a timely manner. I'm not even sure whether I could use Bitbake, or how to set up a non-2.95 cross-compiler (since I use OpenZaurus 3.5.4)!

It would be very nice if a tarball could be made that will set up all the needed tools immediately, all in one go, so that all that would be necessary would be to type something like

CODE

./configure
zmake

or something like

CODE

gcc-zaurus myprog.cpp

to cross-compile something for the Zaurus.

Furthermore, I would really like to be able to compile things in OpenZaurus directly, in an emulator, using a native compiler toolchain. I know from experience that it is very discouraging to try to set up such an environment! It would be really nice to be able to install a zaurus-compiler.ipk package that will give a hobbyist make, gcc, and so forth, the ability to try to compile whatever programs that tickles their fancy (particularly math programs in my case).

When I originally got my Zaurus, I looked forward to being able to do things like this. It's a little frustrating that doing this is just out of my reach! (But I still like my Zaurus; between Python and the fact that I can request something like this makes my Zaurus much closer to that ideal than a Palm or my old Windows-CE Cassiopeia!)

[snowfarthing]

Unfortunately, I haven't yet been able to try to install task-native-sdk; in particular, I'm finding that my computer is too slow for Zaurus emulation and I haven't yet found the time to install it directly to my Zaurus.

Sounds like you want to use OpenEmbedded...

That's what I thought, but when I installed bitbake, things didn't work as I expected. (I'm trying to compile the source of irk-0.11.0.tgz downloaded from the 3.5.4 feed). Just today, I found myself trying to install other packages (texi2html and tmake) and am now getting missing qpe errors (I haven't yet figured out what package that is).

Things are made even more frustrating in that I'm generally doing this while I'm supposed to be studying!

I am somehow doing blatantly wrong, and blaming it on a "lack" of tools, when I'm just having a difficult time ferreting out the correct documentation.

(I still have a sense that it shouldn't be this complicated, though! especially if it's my fault that it's been so.)