Buchan Milne wrote on Fri, Sep 20, 2002 at 11:36:24AM +0200 : > >> > >>>Should there not be kernel-headers-2.4.19-13mdk instead? > >>No > >Very helpful Charles...
When someone at work asks you a question that everybody else in the
office has already asked at least once AND the answer is pinned up on
the corkboard in the break room, you will get that kind of response.
> >How about an explanation of what has changed in the packaging of the
> >kernel sources for 2.4.19?
> The kernel-headers have been moved to build as part of glibc. IMHO, it
> would probably be better to name the package glibc-headers, with a
> provides kernel headers.
I kind of like "glibc-kernel-headers".
> >I for one would appreciate an understanding of why kernel-headers is no
> >longer required.
> Kernel-headers is required for compiling any other software, but it is
> not required for building kernel modules, that's what kernel-source is for.
> There's no reason normal programs need the headers for the kernel, but
> they do need the headers for the c library for the kernel.
What Buchan wrote is correct, let me try to reprase it (since I saw your
other questions that showed you still were not quite getting it).
You have a program that you run to make graphs of your computer's
desktops. This is a userland program, one that really only needs to
link against glibc. It doesn't CARE what version of the kernel it is
running under. In that regard, the userland app needs the headers that
were used to compile glibc. These are the headers that are provided in
the kernel-headers rpm. In that regard, glibc-headers or
glibc-kernel-headers seems like quite a bit better name.
Now, you have a 3rd party kernel module. You have to compile it. You
need the headers that were used to create the kernel that you will be
loading the module inside of. These are the headers that are provided
inside of the kernel-source rpm.
Since glibc is the main "sticky" app/lib that really and truly needs to
use the true kernel headers contained in the kernel-source rpm, when
glibc is recompiled, a "snapshot" of the kernel headers as they existed
at compile time is put together into an rpm and named "kernel-headers"
(again, which might be a good candidate for renaming in order to
properly identify its true function).
It might difficult to change something as long standing as
"kernel-headers", but as Ben says, "Never accept no from someone who
doesn't have the authority to say yes." That would be me :)
Blue skies... Todd
--
MandrakeSoft USA http://www.mandrakesoft.com
Mandrake: An amalgam of good ideas from RedHat, Debian, and MandrakeSoft.
All in all, IMHO, an unbeatable combination. --Levi Ramsey on Cooker ML
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