[Tfug] Just starting - need help

[Joe Blais]

Well... that's what I thought...

-- do you really want to hear this???

I was supplied the source and a confirg file for the kernel -- a descendent
of Fedora Core 4
The stuff I got with didn't have a compiler.  Locally all I could get
quickly was SuSE
I loaded that onto an old PC, copied the tar file for the source and undid
it.
I read the Readme - did what it said - fournd the config file the
manufacturer supplied
started the make, and after some time it said Error -- mov doesn't use x
many parameters--
mov - an assembler thing - when dit it's syntax change?
so I looked deepeer into the readme, and after it said make sure you have
the latest stuff, it says gcc-2.95.3  -- my gcc is 4.whatever
So I finally downloaded Fedora core 4 (which also has gcc 4)
So I gound gcc-2.95.3 on the web, downloaded that and started to try to
compile that -- more syntax errors -- I skipped the "make suyre you have
latest binutls" and go past the syntax errors, but after about a screen or
two of --linking -- it says something like libcobj folder empty-- and dies
there -- for grins I tried the "make stage1" which was supposed to copy a
bunch of stuff to a stage1 folder and then re-compile with the newly
compiled cc -- but that didn't even start up..

Anyway -- thank you for the Xlib info -- I will be needing that soon (I
hope).  I did build something on Suse with QT, but copying that to the
platform we're using failed.  I copied the QT libs, and got up to "buss
error" --
Because we want a small embedded type of thing, and performance, I was
looking into Xlib, but got a real small feeling when looking at the
documentation on the XFree86 site, way over my head, or I just didn't click
on the right "examples" link.

I was also looking into QT's Qtopia, which is supposed to use the same QT
api, but bypass X and go right to the framebuffer.  But if  i can't get the
kernel to compile, i may not want to go there - at least x is working on the
stuff supplied by the vendor.

we selected pc/104 for cost / size / seemed like the thing to do at the
time.  I could go with a bigger cpu, throw in a hard drive, say heck with
the cost, and hack out a solution in winders xp, but..... for now that's a
fallback.


-- well I hear my compiler -- dcel.c: In function 'start-struct'  error:
argument 'code' doesn't match prototype --

sounds like my code, but this is gnu !

Thanks




-----Original Message-----
From: tfug-bounces at tfug.org [mailto:tfug-bounces at tfug.org]On Behalf Of
Bexley Hall
Sent: Monday, October 02, 2006 5:02 PM
To: Tucson Free Unix Group
Subject: Re: [Tfug] Just starting - need help


Hi,

--- Joe Blais <joe.blais at pti-instruments.com> wrote:

> I need help!
>
> I'm new to Linux (about 2 weeks) and I NEED to learn
> how to compile a
> kernel, (start by compiling the compiler even!),
> Draw a button on the
> screen, get a mouse event and finally, make an
> install image.  We are
> building a chemistry instrument, and just starting
> out in Linux, and I need to do the controls for the
> thing.

Can you spell "kitchen sink"?  :>

Building a kernel should be relatively easy.
In NetBSD it's:

$ su
# cd /usr/src/sys/arch/YOURMACHINEARCH/conf
# vi <name_of_config_file>

<make changes to config, as required>

# config <nae_of_config_file>
# cd ../../compile/<name_of_config_file>
# make depend
# make
# make install

I don't run Linux but it shouldn't be much more
involved than this.


As for drawing a button, do you want to draw it using
raw X (Xlib)?  Or, with a particular toolkit?
Are you interested in performance or ease of
interface design/modification?  E.g., you might
want to play with Tcl/tk instead of dealing with
X itself.

Or, any of a number of other skins that you can
layer atop it (you might even look at Inferno if
you want a clean, *portable* environment to code
your application).

> I think I can figure the stuff out eventually, but
> we are working on a new
> project that we want running by December - of this
> year - and as I'm
> getting older, learning this is getting slower!

<grin>  Of course, how [un]realistic that may/may not
be is a direct function of the complexity of the
project you're undertaking!  :>

> We got a pc/104 card - Intel x86 type of thing -

You chose PC/104 for it's small form factor?  Or,
were you looking for a particular set of peripherals?
(or, are you planning on developing the peripherals
to support your I/O's?)

> from Octagon.  We were
> supplied the source to the kernel, a bootable CD,
> and that's about it.
> They don't help with software other than, just go -
> "find it on the web"....

Ain't Open Source great!!  :>

> Do you know of anyone who knows about this type of
> stuff, who would be a
> consultant ($) that could get me through the first
> (and probably some more) hurdles?

--don

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