OESF Portables Forum
Model Specific Forums => Sharp Zaurus => Zaurus - pdaXrom => Topic started by: Ikkakujyu on March 06, 2007, 01:32:58 am
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I realize that I'm asking a REALLY big question here, but I also want to make sure I don't end up doing a lot of work for nothing.
From what I've seen, pdaXrom is using some pretty old software - glibc 2.2, XFree86, gcc 3.6, etc. These are all pretty fundamental subsystems, so I can't just compile a new version and drop it in. This is causing me trouble because some of the software I'm trying to port over (especially CWiid (http://www.wiili.org/index.php/CWiid)) rely on features only available in the newer versions.
What I seem to be drifting towards now is developing yet another Zaurus ROM, with everything compiled natively (I am very patient). Thanks to u-boot, this is actually quite doable, the only thing holding me up so far is making a kernel that can boot properly (almost there!). The thing is, I'd rather NOT start a project altogether seperate from pdaXrom, because I'm going to have to borrow a lot of code from pdaXrom to make it work, and because I have a bit of loyalty
So, my specific questions are:
-Is the pdaXrom team even thinking about updating glibc, switching to xorg, and building with gcc 4.1/EABI yet?
-Is anyone else interested in a more bleeding-edge, pdaXrom-like distro?
-If I manage something useable, will it be possible to merge it back in to pdaXrom somewhat? (I'd be in charge of keeping it compatible, of course.)
(For those of you who missed the memo, EABI is totally awesome. (http://wiki.debian.org/ArmEabiPort))
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I realize that I'm asking a REALLY big question here, but I also want to make sure I don't end up doing a lot of work for nothing.
From what I've seen, pdaXrom is using some pretty old software - glibc 2.2, XFree86, gcc 3.6, etc. These are all pretty fundamental subsystems, so I can't just compile a new version and drop it in. This is causing me trouble because some of the software I'm trying to port over (especially CWiid (http://www.wiili.org/index.php/CWiid)) rely on features only available in the newer versions.
What I seem to be drifting towards now is developing yet another Zaurus ROM, with everything compiled natively (I am very patient). Thanks to u-boot, this is actually quite doable, the only thing holding me up so far is making a kernel that can boot properly (almost there!). The thing is, I'd rather NOT start a project altogether seperate from pdaXrom, because I'm going to have to borrow a lot of code from pdaXrom to make it work, and because I have a bit of loyalty
So, my specific questions are:
-Is the pdaXrom team even thinking about updating glibc, switching to xorg, and building with gcc 4.1/EABI yet?
-Is anyone else interested in a more bleeding-edge, pdaXrom-like distro?
-If I manage something useable, will it be possible to merge it back in to pdaXrom somewhat? (I'd be in charge of keeping it compatible, of course.)
(For those of you who missed the memo, EABI is totally awesome. (http://wiki.debian.org/ArmEabiPort))
[div align=\"right\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=155508\")
[a href=\"http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/]http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/[/url] already has that (and more), and it was used to bootstrap the debian eabi port you linked to as well.
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I tried both the .summary and .jffs2 GPE images from
http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/unsta...20070207/spitz/ (http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/unstable/images/20070207/spitz/)
On my c3100 - both installed OK but only got to a certain point in the boot sequence before stopping with an error I don't recall. Hentges installed fine on the same machine/partitioning set up.
Is there an Angstrom image that is known to work for the spitz? Is it more usable than the latest OZ or might I be better off waiting for the new OZ?
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Angstrom sounds great, when its nearing stable I might give it a go.
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http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/ (http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/) already has that (and more), and it was used to bootstrap the debian eabi port you linked to as well.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=155522\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
when is angstrom due to be released ?
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http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/ (http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/) already has that (and more), and it was used to bootstrap the debian eabi port you linked to as well.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=155522\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
I've checked out Angstrom, but couldn't get it to do anything useful - there's not enough documentation, and its X implementation is weird.
Actually, this reminds me of one of the big reasons I use pdaXrom in the first place - OpenEmbedded's X server can't let apps go fullscreen, and it can only display at 640x480. This makes it absolutely horrible for video, emulation, and games. It's also a lot slower at redrawing, for some reason. Angstrom might fix these problems in the future, but there's no guarantee, and I'm not inclined to wait.
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You could always choose a different xserver, e.g. xorg rather than kdrive.
This is as easy as changing the xserver preferred_provider line in one of the .conf files and re-issuing the bitbake gpe-image command.
Though this sounds like it might be partly window manager related too. Again, you can change this by altering a conf file and letting it build the new requirements.
I also understand that there's acceleration for the PXA270 machines' graphics now which may improve the speed issues you were having.
On my c3100 - both installed OK but only got to a certain point in the boot sequence before stopping with an error I don't recall.
Did you add it to the bugtracker?
Si
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-Is the pdaXrom team even thinking about updating glibc, switching to xorg, and building with gcc 4.1/EABI yet?
-Is anyone else interested in a more bleeding-edge, pdaXrom-like distro?
-If I manage something useable, will it be possible to merge it back in to pdaXrom somewhat? (I'd be in charge of keeping it compatible, of course.)
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=155508\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
1. I'll ask, but I suspect a big no for xorg due to size and RAM usage.
2. ...
3. Why didn't you try to get on the pdaX dev team?
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You could always choose a different xserver, e.g. xorg rather than kdrive.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=155564\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
The kdrive in angstrom is just Xorg 7.1 built with --enable-kdrive
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3. Why didn't you try to get on the pdaX dev team?
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Well, when the call was issued, I didn't know nearly as much about pdaXrom's internals as I do now. That, and I'm not confident I can keep up with more experienced devs.
Obviously, I need to play around with OpenEmbedded a lot more - I've tried it in the past, but never got around to fiddling with any configurations. I'm going to keep pursuing my own avenue (basically Linux from scratch) as an educational endeavor.
I'd really like to thank the pdaXrom team for porting U-Boot - makes things vastly easier.
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As an update, there is a plan to update packages AFTER getting a stable release out. Apparently updating one thing can lead to another, and another, and another...
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I'm going to keep pursuing my own avenue (basically Linux from scratch) as an educational endeavor.
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Sounds like a lot of work. Please keep us posted on your progress if you can. Many of us (particularly myself) could really benefit from more documentation on this process.
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Sounds like a lot of work. Please keep us posted on your progress if you can. Many of us (particularly myself) could really benefit from more documentation on this process.
[div align=\"right\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=155611\")
To that end, I've started a [a href=\"http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/Etched_Marble]Wikia Scratchpad[/url] and a blog (http://emarble.blogspot.com/) to keep track of everything. Aside from college and work, I have a couple of other side projects (namely, videogame programming) so I can't guarantee I'll be updating at a rate everyone will like, but at least I'll be updating. The whole point is to create a trail that motivated people can follow to find out how a Linux system works.
I'm calling the whole thing the "Etched Marble" experiment. The name is supposed to reflect the fact that I'll be configuring everything to run Enlightenment DR17.
Aaaaand of course, I'm gonna stay active in the pdaXrom community. Which reminds me, I compiled some more up-to-date versions of BlueZ...
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I'll follow your work closely, I think...
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Very interesting, I'm keen to hear tales of your build experiments.