Re: confusion in left frame of the website

[Marco Gerards]

Marcus Brinkmann <address@hidden> writes:

> On Sat, Aug 23, 2003 at 06:28:20PM +0000, Robert Millan wrote:
> > There's no link for installing the Hurd. For GNU Mach we have some notes [1]
> > about build dependencies, cross-compiling, etc. But for the Hurd there are
> > no such notes. What you will find in their place are notes for installing
> > a Debian GNU/Hurd distribution.
> 
> Right.  Installing the Hurd itself is something that is peculiar to do.  For
> example, as of today, if you install the Hurd via make install, it will
> overwrite the /libexec/rc file and thus wipe out some of the Debian specific
> code in it from the Debian package.

Same for /etc/motd and /etc/ttys.
 
> So this is something that first needs to be made to work correctly.  Until
> then, installing the Hurd from the sources is only for advanced users and
> developers.  I would be happy if someone would take a look at it, see what
> needs to be fixed, make suggestions and then write some documentation how
> the Hurd can be compiled from sources, installed, and under what
> circumstances you have to reboot then.

Hmm, I can do that. I know most issues with the Hurd from CVS (and
workarounds). Where should this be documented? A separate guide?
 
> Another thing that worries me is that there is no test suite for the Hurd. 
> Installing the Hurd can make your system unbootable.  While this is also
> true for the kernel, the kernel is only one file, and it is easy to keep the
> old version as a backup.  For the Hurd this is near impossible, given the
> fact that there are zillions of binaries and shared libraries.

I agree. Neighbourhurds can help, but test cases are MUCH better!

--
Marco