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diff --git a/dev/todo.html b/dev/todo.html index 949fcb7..c760f59 100755 --- a/dev/todo.html +++ b/dev/todo.html @@ -2,13 +2,13 @@ <!--#set var="pagetitle" value="Development Projects" --> <!--#include virtual="../includes/header.html" --> <p>The following is an overview of development projects that need to be done before the operating system can be considered ready for production use.</p> -<h2>Boot Sequencing</h2> +<h2 id="boot-sequencing">Boot Sequencing</h2> <p>Currently, service init scripts are provided by the monolithic <code>initscripts</code> binary package. These init scripts are executed in the lexicographic order of the symbolic links matching <code>/etc/rc.d/S*</code> that target them. The names of these symbolic links are currently hardcoded in <a href="http://git.os.pehjota.net/pkg/basefiles.git/tree/build?id=0ae24516#n43">the <code>build</code> makefile</a> of the <code>basefiles</code> source package. This monolithic packaging and hardcoding of link names is a temporary and poor technical solution that doesn't scale with the number and selection of services that can be installed on a system. Init scripts should instead be provided by the packages that provide the relevant system services. The order in which init scripts are executed should be determined by dynamic boot sequencing based on inter-service dependency metadata.</p> <p>This boot sequencing can be done when the system boots or after a new system service is installed. For reference, NetBSD <a href="http://www.netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/chap-rc.html#chap-rc-rcorder">uses a program called "rcorder"</a> to determine a boot sequence at boot time. Many GNU/Linux distributions follow (to some degree) the Linux Standard Base (LSB) specification, which defines <a href="http://refspecs.linuxbase.org/LSB_3.1.0/LSB-Core-generic/LSB-Core-generic/initscrcomconv.html">"Comment Conventions" for dependency metadata</a> and <a href="http://refspecs.linuxbase.org/LSB_3.1.0/LSB-Core-generic/LSB-Core-generic/initsrcinstrm.html">a method for installing sequentially-named symbolic links</a>. Conforming implementations perform boot sequencing at the time of service installation. Because boot sequencing at boot time can slow down system booting, it is better to perform boot sequencing at install time.</p> <p>Thus, generally speaking, the solution to be adopted in this system is to make packages that provide system services also include the necessary init scripts (installed in <code>/etc/init.d</code>), to include inter-service dependency metadata in init scripts, and to use a tool at the time of service package installation to generate sequentially-named symoblic links in <code>/etc/rc.d</code>.</p> <p>An obvious boot sequencing tool is <a href="http://svn.savannah.nongnu.org/viewvc/insserv/trunk/?root=sysvinit">"insserv"</a> maintained by Werner Fink and used by Debian and openSUSE. However, this C program (in compliance with the LSB) assumes the use of runlevels. This operating system uses the init daemon of BusyBox, which <a href="http://git.busybox.net/busybox/tree/init/init.c?id=3da46c81#n1221">doesn't support runlevels</a>. Therefore, we'll need to either modify insserv to work without runlevels or write our own tool for installing symbolic links to init scripts.</p> <p>Additionally, we need to decide how completely we'll conform, if at all, with the LSB in this area.</p> -<h2>Multiarch</h2> +<h2 id="multiarch">Multiarch</h2> <p>Multiarch refers to the ability to install and use packages built for non-native architectures. It is currently being <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/Multiarch">documented and implemented</a> in Debian and Ubuntu. Multiarch is useful for this distribution because it makes cross compiling easy (see "Package Cross Building Tool" and "Multiarch Cross Toolchain Packages" below).</p> <p>Simply speaking, there are six <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MultiarchSpec#Design">aspects of a multiarch implementation</a>:</p> <ul> @@ -45,9 +45,9 @@ <p>A tool similar to <a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=d-i/debootstrap.git;a=tree">debootstrap</a> of Debian needs to be written to bootstrap the installation of a basic system. It can be used for building packages (see "Package Cross Building Tool" below) or installing the operating system on hardware targets.</p> <p>Basically, the tool would fetch from the package archive the index of packages, determine which packages need to be installed, download each package, and unpack each package. Since the package manager may not be available, the tool must handle dependency resolution and package unpacking on its own.</p> <p>We can't use debootstrap, since the formats of our binary packages and package archives differ slightly from those of Debian. But we can model our tool after debootstrap or even just fork debootstrap.</p> -<h2>Package Cross Building Tool</h2> +<h2 id="pkg-x-build-tool">Package Cross Building Tool</h2> <p>A tool similar to pbuilder and sbuild of Debian needs to be written to build packages within a chroot environment containing a base system installed by the installation bootstrap tool. It needs to support cross building of packages using multiarch cross toolchains.</p> -<h2>Multiarch Cross Toolchain Packages</h2> +<h2 id="multiarch-x-toolchains">Multiarch Cross Toolchain Packages</h2> <p>Needed are packages of toolchain components (e.g. GCC and EGLIBC) that use multiarch library paths.</p> <p>There is currently a <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/SummerOfCode2012/Projects#Multiarch_Cross-Toolchains">Google Summer of Code 2012 project</a> to <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/SummerOfCode2012/StudentApplications/ThibautGirka">develop such packages for Debian</a>.</p> <!--#include virtual="../includes/footer.html" --> |