Linux From Scratch 11.3

Date: 2023-07-28

About Linux From Scratch

GNU/Linux distributions are defined in large part by their package manager: these are programs that handle the installation, updating, and configuration of other programs on the host. Linux From Scratch is a book that teaches the reader a way to compile a functional GNU/Linux operating system without the use of such a program. The reader is left with an operating system akin to a base install of Arch Linux at the end of the project, and that is where the sequel book Beyond Linux From Scratch comes in.

Why I Recommend The Project

LFS can provide users with a greater understanding of: the standards that LFS is structured around, what functionality each program within the project adds to an operating system, how cross-compilation is achieved, and how they might troubleshoot compilation and configuration errors.

Advice On Undertaking The Project

• A basic knowledge of the GNU Core Utilities, disk partitioning, and common network protocols is recommended before beginning.
• Try not to rush: it is easy to just copy and paste the commands for each section without processing what each piece does.
• LFS requires the installation of one of two init systems, SysVinit or Systemd, the latter is more commonly used in modern distributions, but the former has more documentation available due to its age.
• If the host's operating system utilizes SELinux, it is fairly common to encounter errors when compiling Attr; LFS documentation and online discussion advise building on an install without SELinux or manually disabling it and erasing the attributes it has assigned to each object in the filesystem.
• The LFS variable should be set within both the primary user and root account's .bash_profile or .bashrc as explained in Section 2.6 as it is common for users to accidentally damage their host OS by referencing the variable in a command without it being set for that user.
• LFS does not carry over the MAKEFLAGS variable, which specifies how many jobs can be running at the same time, when entering the chroot environment: compile times can be significantly reduced by reapplying the MAKEFLAGS variable or specifying -jx (where x is the number of threads available) in each make command.
• If the LFS install is intended to run in a virtualized environment, the UUID and PARTUUID of the root partition must generally be specified in grub.cfg as explained in Section 10.4.4 to avoid boot failure.
• Using LFS as a daily driver is often discouraged due to the complexities of upgrading the GNU C Library, which many system utilities depend on, as explained in Section 8.2.1.