[Aakash-hackers] Bootstrapping for Aakash

Sun Feb 9 19:45:15 UTC 2014

Quoting Srikant (2014-02-09 16:46:39)
> On Sun, Feb 9, 2014 at 8:01 PM, Vasudev Kamath 
> <kamathvasudev at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Srikant <u.srikant.patnaik at gmail.com> writes:
>>> 2) I have created a minimal lxde-core image, with Wifi/touch and 
>>> basic utils.
[snip]
> Sure. Will make a shell script.

Great.

I am curious about those "Wifi/touch" features (I was unaware that LXDE 
had any particular support for touch devices): Please elaborate on that 
- if not obvious from the upcoming script.

>> it looks like enlightenment does have mobile device support so we can 
>> try that

> We have tried e17 before, it is fast, but mobile and tablet interface 
> had some unpleasant corners. Though we don't remember why we switched 
> to LXDE,

Please consider sharing more details on the issues you had with e17, so 
that we all can benefit from that learning in our onward exploration of 
options.

> but still I personally like to try e18 some time.

Here are some ways to help speed that up (instead of just waiting):

  * Ask upstream developers how you can help (e.g. sponsor hardware):
    http://www.enlightenment.org
  * Join the Pkg-e team and help package and maintain the e18 code:
    https://wiki.debian.org/PkgE

>>>> Interesting. But to be honest I have no interest in the actual 
>>>> image you produced - what I find interesting is the choices you 
>>>> made in producing it: Better if you share source - i.e. the scripts 
>>>> (or other procedures) you used to produce the image.
>
>>> The github link which I shared has the detailed procedure. There is 
>>> no script. I don't feel there is a need too, correct me if I'm 
>>> wrong.
>
>> I did check the page and I've few comments here. I think you used 
>> Ubuntu to bootstrap this image, there is nothing wrong I'm noticing 
>> it because there is no package called *gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf* yet 
>> in Debian. The cross compiler which can be installed in Debian is 
>> only from the emdebian repo IIRC, I use thibgs repo at [1] and 
>> package available there is *gcc-4.7-arm-linux-gnueabihf*. May be a 
>> line suggesting adding this repo to the sources.lst if people using 
>> Debian want to bootstrap this image is helpful.
>
> Yes, I used Ubuntu. I assumed that these packages will have same name 
> in Debian too. My bad. Sure I have added the repo information. Would 
> you also recommend to use Linaro or Scratchbox ?

The goal is a Debian Pure Blend: Anything but stable Debian is "wrong". 
Both for build environment and for target host environment.

...but until we reach the goal, we need to "cheat".  Some of the things 
we want in this DebianAakash project exist in Debian but is not yet 
stable, and some things does not exist in Debian.

Best is to use Debian unstable as build environment initially, then try 
replicate same build routines in a clean-room automated Debian unstable 
environment, and then an automated testing environment and when possible 
in a Debian stable environment.

Use Ubuntu if inconvenient to switch to Debian right now - but beware 
that eventually you _will_ need to switch to Debian, and that each such 
"cheat" slows down the whole collaboration: we must carefully keep track 
of all cheats and "translate" them to the ideal Debian environment.

Same for Linaro, Scratchbox, Emdebian, Windows, MacOS X, LLVM and 
Github....

>>> The reason is, U-boot and filesystem we make only once. We change 
>>> the Kernel, that too, only once.

If I understand you correctly, that's a bad approach: What if a bug is 
discovered in U-boot?  Yes, those parts of the system are very rarely 
changed, but are still software, and Free software must be replaceable, 
which implies that the routines to replace must be reproducible.

>> Here I want to point out few stuffs, I was exploring the feasibiity 
>> of pure blending Debian for Aakash and found few blockers, one such 
>> blocker I've updated on wiki is availability of Alwinner A13 board 
>> support in Debian. Since Alwinner A13 support is not yet mainlined 
>> completely by Sunxi project to Linux upstream we can't expect Debian 
>> to officially provide a deb file.
>>
>> i.e. sudo aptitude install linux-image-alwinner
>>
>> (PS: I don't have required expertise to carry out mainlining efforts 
>> :-) but if some one can then I'll be glad to help)

Here are some ways to help speed that up (instead of just waiting):

  * Ask upstream developers how you can help (e.g. sponsor hardware):
    https://linux-sunxi.org/
  * Create an unofficial Debian package from current non-mainlined
    sunxi branch, so that hardware vendors like Olimex and system
    integrators like this DebianAakash team can setup routines solely
    from Debian packages instead of using readymade boot images.

 - Jonas

-- 
 * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist & Internet-arkitekt
 * Tlf.: +45 40843136  Website: http://dr.jones.dk/

 [x] quote me freely  [ ] ask before reusing  [ ] keep private
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