[lug] booting and kernel compiling (was dumpdates)

[D. Stimits]

Jason Packer/Boulder/Contr/IBM wrote:
> 
> D. Stimits wrote:
> 
> "Remember that libc (or glibc, or some version) is required for almost
> everything. While modules in /lib/modules/ can be removed for many
> things, take out libc, and you've basically cut the spinal cord. Much of
> what the kernel does to relate to other programs involves it. As an
> experiment, run ldd on programs in /bin or /sbin that you consider
> essential, probably none of them live without libc, but many need only
> that and the linker (which is another good one not to destroy)."
> 
> This may be the most important lesson about Linux that I have learned from
> this list.  I'm curious, however, just where you have come by this
> knowledge.  It's certainly not in any books I've read about Linux.  Is it
> all from experience, or from programming using Linux?
> 
>      Jason
> 
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A bit of both, mainly I've been working on linux since about 1.0.13, and
needed to track why various programs segfaulted. I started programming
on IBM AIX over 10 years ago, but couldn't take the R/S6000 home, so I
got linux. Been programming C/C++ on it ever since. ldd and nm have been
invaluable in finding lib mismatch problems on 3rd party software, which
I actually learned to use prior to learning C. After you use it enough,
even on programs that have nothing but main() and no body content, the
perpetual presence of libc is hard to miss. Absolutely everything uses
it.