Very Computer

I have known for quite awhile that RedHat has the bad habit of using
modified kernel sources in their distribution.  Personally, I found
this quite annoying as I wanted to upgrade the kernel but found that I
was STUCK with that provided by RedHat since certain patches in the
kernel source (i.e. RAID) were not found in the * sources.

While modified kernel sources were annoying, I could live with it.
Now I find out that they use modified sources for many of their
packages.  This is getting sufficiently annoying that I may want to
switch all of my computers to alternative sources.  Top on the list is
Debian.  Can anyone tell me if they use * source code in
compiling?

Conway Yee

If you want the patches that redhat provides in there kernel just get
the

        "kernel.src.rpm"              # and do a

        "rpm -i"                      # on it then

        "cd /usr/src/redhat/SPECS"    # and do a

        "rpm -bp kernel.spec"        

which applies all patches and puts the untared "linux" directory into
the

        "/usr/src/redhat/BUILD/"      # directory just

        "mv /usr/src/redhat/BUILD/linux  /usr/src/"

for the build of your new kernel. You don't have to use RPM to build it.
I also used one of the config files which you can find in the
/usr/src/redhat/SOURCES  directory for the base to start your build from
and make the needed changes from that.

Just another way to do it maybe.
Worked for me.
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Centuries ago, Nostradamus foresaw a time when Conway Yee would say:

Quote:>I have known for quite awhile that RedHat has the bad habit of using
>modified kernel sources in their distribution.  Personally, I found
>this quite annoying as I wanted to upgrade the kernel but found that I
>was STUCK with that provided by RedHat since certain patches in the
>kernel source (i.e. RAID) were not found in the * sources.

>While modified kernel sources were annoying, I could live with it.
>Now I find out that they use modified sources for many of their
>packages.  This is getting sufficiently annoying that I may want to
>switch all of my computers to alternative sources.  Top on the list is
>Debian.  Can anyone tell me if they use * source code in
>compiling?

Probably not.

But it's not a critical point from two crucial perspectives:

a) The sources are available;
b) You are encouraged to compile your own kernel yourself.

You'll find that *nobody* uses "*" sources, whether RHAT,
Slackware, SuSE, Debian, or, for that matter, BSD Ports.  *All* of
them provide the capability of packages having patches that diverge
from the "pristine" sources.

The real problem here is that RHAT is apparently not doing enough to
contribute patches back to the "official source tree."  Or perhaps in
not documenting it clearly enough.  They're not the only ones; other
vendors have been known to do similar.  [VA comes to mind...]

As a "straight" answer to your question, Debian is probably more
careful in this regard; that being said, I *always* wind up replacing
the installed kernel with one compiled from the official source tree.
(Perhaps with some patches that *I* choose...)
--
Talk a lot, don't you?

Quote:Conway Yee writes:
> Top on the list is Debian.  Can anyone tell me if they use * source
> code in compiling?

What do you mean by "* source code"?  Debian source packages include
pristine upstream sources: so, I believe, do Red Hat source packages.
However, Debian packages, like Red Hat packages, are patched to varying
degrees to bring them into compliance with policy and adjust them to work
smoothly with the rest of the distribution.
--
John Hasler

Dancing Horse Hill
Elmwood, WI

I believe most distributions do us "favours" and use
modified
sources for the kernel.  Which means that context diffs are
often the only ones which have a chance of correctly being
applied.  It doesn't matter what distribution I go with now
(I've used Slackware, SuSE and Debian), I always go to
kernel.org for kernel source.  I still go to Debian (or
tarballs)
for other packages.

Gord
#include <disclaimer.h>

On Tue, 21 Mar 2000 06:47:26 -0700, Gordon Haverland

Yes, but the raw, original source is still included, along with the
patches. If you want to roll your own, you can always decide which
patches to include. This is true of RH, and I am sure true of others
too. If you install from binaries, you probably are mostly getting
patched packages.

--
Hal B

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