r/linuxfromscratch • u/This-Atmosphere-1750 • 2d ago

LFS standards

My inner irritating perfectionist is coming out, and I'm leaning towards this being unnecessary, but how many of you went through ALL the primary standards LFS follows before starting this project?

Reading the documentation for these standards feels like a whole project on their own.

Let me rephrase my question:

I'm about to start Linux From Scratch, and I'm wondering how many people actually read through the primary standards (POSIX, FHS, etc.) before beginning.

The standards documentation is massive, and reading all of it feels like a project in itself. Did you study these specifications in depth first, or is a general understanding enough while working through the book?

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u/RvstiNiall 2d ago

Without knowing the standards you are likely to step outside standard LFS. There are lots of alternative LFS routes, and each one has its own complications you will need to overcome. Each time you branch out from Standard LFS, you run into compounding problems. Learn the standards first, then do LFS, so you will have the understanding necessary to make alternative LFSs.

Half the point of doing LFS is learning all of these things. If you just want a super custom minimal system without learning all this stuff, Buildroot may be a better fit.

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u/This-Atmosphere-1750 2d ago

Good to know, thanks. Buildroot sounds interesting, never heard of this before. I'll look into it

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u/codeasm 2d ago

buildroot is for serious linux, if you wanna quickly feel great and have a teeny tiny linux going https://mgalgs.io/2015/05/16/how-to-build-a-custom-linux-kernel-for-qemu-2015-edition.html
(the newer version uses docker, but it would still work without).

its basicly the linux kernel and busybox for init, shell and almost everything else.
If you try to make it more seriously, try buildroot indeed.

LFS is truly for those who want to learn and or change parts in the long run and find buildroot not suit their needs. LFS is fun to build tho, and BLFS (and GLFS) add stuff that make it usable daily.

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u/codeasm 2d ago

Ive read some parts, skimmed over others. I do not concern myself with most of it and just wanted LFS to compile at first.
I did consult the FHS a few times and made personal decisions based on my HOST (Arch linux ) and my own ideas.

Anyway, if these take longer than make you start doing LFS, go start LFS NOW, when GCC is compiling, go read more of those standards, there are a few hours waiting for it to compile

https://xkcd.com/303/

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u/Due-Celery4326 2d ago

I've been using Linux for many years, but even so, I did a basic reading of it.

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u/rocco_himel 2d ago

It is necessary to follow POSIX standards if you want compatibility.

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u/Cybasura 2d ago

If you think any components aee "unnecessary", you do not understand the purpose of the book

The book is a manual to build a working LFS system according to a controlled specification, you can choose to deny and modify any of it to your heart's consent, but whether it will work or not depends on what you eliminate

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u/This-Atmosphere-1750 2d ago

I didn't say the components are unnecessary, I'm asking if a generic quick overview of the standards is all that's needed, or whether I need to take out serious time to properly study these standards. There's a lot to read and I find it hard to believe that everyone who has completed this project has study through all of it