/usr/src/linux symlink considered harmful

m1rage · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 11 Feb 2004 Posts: 82

Hi,

I'm still a Linux newbie, so I'm googling a lot and sometime I come across article that are interesting but that I don't understand completely. Latest was this one : www.linuxgazette.com/issue62/tag/4.htm

I'm using a symlink to my kernel version...that never caused me a problem, I've even been suggested to do so when I couldn't emerge svgalibs. The gentoo docs say to use it...what give?

Your opinions are welcome

Thanks!
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m1rage

chocoba65 · n00b Joined: 08 Apr 2003 Posts: 33

I can't even get that site to load properly.

Malakin · Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2004 5:37 am Post subject:

The site isn't loading for me either but google has it cached:
link

Just looks like a bunch of meandering babble.

Linking your kernel source to /usr/src/linux is standard.

bssteph · l33t Joined: 26 Feb 2003 Posts: 652 Location: Wisconsin

The main thrust of the argument seems to be that userland shouldn't build against /usr/src/linux-VERSION/ include headers. And this is true.

But that's not why Gentoo makes /usr/src/linux/ as we have _REAL_ linux-headers that are in /usr/include/ and these are much more static and predictable.

IIRC, you can have a broken /usr/src/linux/ symlink and both a) run and b) rebuild your system under gentoo just fine _IF_ you don't have nVidia. I forget why nvidia-kernel needs that symlink exactly, but it's fairly trivial.

Anyway, that article seems pretty old, perhaps before there was acceptance on static, real headers in /usr/include/linux/ if there was ever such a time.

Admiral LSD · Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2004 3:51 pm Post subject:

The nVidia drivers need something in the full source to compile properly, having just the headers doesn't cut it. I'm, not sure exactly why, probably something to do with DRI, but they mention it as being important in their release notes. The ATi drivers require the kernel source as well since the compile scripts actually look for the DRI source in the kernel when they compile. Practically anything that requires the full kernel source to compile looks for it as /usr/src/linux.
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