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From: burgess@cynjut.neonramp.com (Dave Burgess)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.announce,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.announce,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: [comp.unix.bsd] NetBSD, FreeBSD, and 386BSD (0.1) FAQ (Part 4 of 10)
Supersedes: <386bsd-faq-4-847868403@cynjut.neonramp.com>
Followup-To: comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc
Date: 27 Nov 1996 01:00:08 -0600
Organization: Dave's House in Omaha
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Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu,cgd@sun-lamp.cs.berkeley.edu
Expires: 12/15/96 01:00:03 CDT
Message-ID: <386bsd-faq-4-849078003@cynjut.neonramp.com>
References: <386bsd-faq-1-849078003@cynjut.neonramp.com>
Reply-To: burgess@cynjut.neonramp.com (386bsd FAQ Maintainer)
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Keywords: FAQ 386bsd NetBSD FreeBSD !Linux
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Posted-By: auto-faq 3.1.1.2
Archive-name: 386bsd-faq/part4
Section 3. (Kernel Building and Maintenance)
3.0 System Internals
One of the interesting aspects of *BSD is the fact that it comes
with the complete source. This allows you to make changes to the
system, recompile, and test out your new ideas. This section of
the FAQ describes many of the different aspects of this endeavor
and common problems and pitfalls that are encountered. Kevin Lahey
provided the substantial portion of this section. You can contact
him via E-Mail at (kml@rokkaku.atl.ga.us) or contact Dave Burgess
(burgess@cynjut.neonramp.com).
3.1 Kernel
3.1.1 How do I build a kernel?
The kernel can be compiled in a variety of ways to support different
devices and configurations. Compilation is controlled by a config
file that specifies the characteristics of the kernel. A set of
different config files is located in /sys/i386/conf or
/sys/arch/i386/conf. The configuration file names are in upper case.
To build a particular kernel (in this example, we use the GENERICISA
configuration file in NetBSD or FreeBSD):
% cd /sys/i386/conf
% config GENERICISA
% cd /sys/compile/GENERICISA
% make depend
% make
In NetBSD, since there are multiple architectures supported, there
is an architecture line in the middle of the path to these files.
See the build.kernel script in section 3.8 for more information.
Remember, when structures in the kernel change, there are some
programs (ps, top, etc.) that will cease to work correctly. You
will need to recompile these programs as well as the new kernel.
You need to do the following to make sure that your programs get
updated as well as the kernel:
cd /usr/src/include
make install
cd /usr/src/lib/libkvm
make clean && make && make install
cd /usr/src/bin/ps
make clean && make && make install
cd /usr/src/...
3.1.1.1 Why does the kernel code for NetBSD still use the old K&R style
declarations when the ANSI declarations are SO much better?
3.1.1.2 How do I port NetBSD to another platform?
We still use the old style K&R definitions easier, because
bringing up a new port on a foreign machine with a brain-damaged
compiler can be impossible, or at least very difficult,
if you don't do it this way. Remember, NetBSD is multi-platform,
and tries to make it as easy as possible to port. Which means
building pieces of the system with someone else's compiler.
3.1.2 I want to do one of the following things:
* add a device not in the distributed kernel (third com
port, additional disk or tape, line printer driver, etc).
* use a patch from the net or the patchkit to fix a kernel bug.
* add another swap device.
* recompile the kernel to remove extraneous devices so that
it takes up less space.
* configure more pseudo-terminals to allow for more xterms
or network logins.
You're going to have to recompile the kernel after you modify the
config file. See section 3.2 below for more information about the
config file in general.
3.1.4 Now that I have a kernel, how do I install it?
Your kernel is called /kernel or /netbsd. Copy the new kernel
from /sys/compile/GENERICISA/(whatever) to /, assuming that it
is in that directory. If you really screw up the new kernel,
you want to have something to fall back on, so be sure to
save /kernel to /kernel.old before copying in a new kernel.
3.1.6 My system is complaining about stray interrupt 7. Is my machine
going to explode or anything?
No. They are caused by lots of things. They are, as far as
anyone that should be expected to know about this stuff, harmless.
There are ramifications on them being there, but for MOST users
they do not pose a real threat to your operations. For those of
you that are doing REALLY interrupt intensive stuff, you may want
to grab a technical reference and figure out why the 8259 is not
getting reset correctly.
In spite of the number of times this has come up (and people have
even referenced this section) there are still at least two
questions on the net about this. A memorable one was a guy who
was just vehement that the stray int 7 was what was keeping his
system from booting. In fact, he went so far as to say that this
document was practically worthless because I didn't tell him how
to fix it. Of course, once he configured his hard drive controller
so that it was on the right interrupt, his booting problem went
away. I have said it before and I will say it again. For MOST
users they do not pose a real threat to your operations.
I have heard of three people (out of at least 2000) that have
actually have problems so bad that they couldn't proceed. They
bought new computers, and the problem went away.
These stray interrupts are caused by something in the PC.
I have yet to see a convincing explanation of precisely what,
but they are definitely caused by something. There are four
ways to deal with this problem.
1) Ignore them. They are spurious and do not effect the
operation of your computer.
2) Implement the lpt driver. This way, the driver traps
(the lpt driver expects IRQ 7) and then quietly discards them.
That is why when folks implement the lpt driver the 'problem'
goes away. The computer is taught how to ignore them.
3) Do what the original 386bsd code did. Comment out the
diagnostic and associated code that tries to deal with them so
you don't see the error message.
4) Buy a new computer that doesn't cause this problem. It is a
known hardware problem with the 8259 being reset incorrectly in
hardware.
Kalevi Suominen (jks@geom.helsinki.fi) offers this technical
explanation of the 'stray interrupt 7' phenomenon.
In the section of the Intel Peripheral Handbook dealing with
the 8259A there is a description of the 6-step interrupt
sequence for an 80x86 system (and 7-step for an MCS-80/85),
and then the following paragraph:
"If no interrupt request is present at step 4 of either sequence
(i.e., the request was too short in duration) the 8259A will
issue an interrupt level 7. Both the vectoring bytes and the CAS
lines will look like an interrupt level 7 was requested."
This explains how some transient disturbances or improperly
functioning adapter cards could trigger a stray interrupt 7
in a system operating in the *level* interrupt mode (such as
a PS/2 with MCA): An interrupt request will disappear as soon
as the interrupt line goes inactive.
That such interrupts may also occur in a system operating in
the *edge* triggered mode (such as an ordinary PC/AT with ISA)
is a little harder to see. Yet it is possible - even without
malfunctioning hardware - because masking an interrupt request
will hide its presence from the 8259A as well:
1. The interrupt flag (IF) of the 80x86 is reset either
directly (e.g., by a "cli" instruction) or because an
interrupt handler is entered. In the latter case the
corresponding in-service (IS) bit of the 8259A is set
(effectively blocking interrupts of lower priority).
2. The 8259A receives an unmasked interrupt request (IRQn),
and, in case an interrupt is being served and has higher
priority than IRQn, the IS bit of the 8259A is reset by
an end of interrupt (EOI) command. (These steps may occur
in either order.) If IRQn has higher priority (e.g. IRQ0),
no EOI is necessary.
3. The 8259A activates the interrupt (INT) line to the 80x86
(which will ignore it - for the moment).
4. The interrupt mask (IM) bit of the 8259A for IRQn is set.
(A little late, though. The sequence has already started.)
5. The interrupt flag (IF) of the 80x86 is set (either
directly, or as a consequence of e.g. an "iret" instruction).
6. The 80x86 will now acknowledge the INT request by activating
the INTA line of the 8259A.
7. The 8259A will not see the masked IRQn and will continue
by issuing a spurious interrupt of level 7 instead.
The original interrupt request (IRQn) will not be lost, however.
It is preserved by the associated edge sense latch of the 8259A,
and will be acted on after the IM bit has been reset again.
The net result is that a single interrupt request will be
delivered *twice* to the 80x86: first as a stray interrupt 7
and later as the proper interrupt. In particular, it is perfectly
safe to ignore the stray interrupt (other than sending an EOI).
It is just the ghost of an aborted interrupt sequence: the system
was not prepared for it yet.
3.1.7 I keep getting "wd0c: extra interrupt". What does it mean?
It means that the drive was already processing a command
(active) when it received an interrupt from the system telling
it to see if it had anything to do. This is mostly harmless
but could indicate that the drive/controller is having problems
if the message appears often.
3.1.8 I keep getting silo overflow messages, but the system doesn't
seem to mind. Is there a problem?
Not exactly. This simply means that the First in first out
buffer is getting too full. I markedly reduced the incidence
of silo overflows on my system by editing dev/isa/com.c to
change the FIFO threshold from 8 to 4 characters. This way, the
buffer gets more attention and reduces the chance of overflowing
the buffer.
Another possibility is caused when you are using internet over
a telephone line via SLIP or PPP. You might have an unbuffered
UART on your serial port, like the 8250 or the 16450. With the
introduction of the IBM PS/2 systems the first 16550 UART's were
shipped to provide a 16 byte buffer. But unfortunately the buffering
of the original 16550 did not work. The problem was solved with
the improved 16550A UART. If you run MSD (under MSDOS!), an
application that comes with MS-Windows, you can determine the UART
type of your serial ports (by choosing COMS). The UART type is also
showed when your UNIX boots up.
To solve the `silo overflow' problem you can by a Multi/IO card
with a `real' 16550A, or a card with an extra serial port, like
the HAYES ESP card. The Hayes card has a DOSSETUP utility to
configure its port address and IRQ. The port address can be
chosen between 180H and 380H, the IRQ address 3, 4, 5 or 9.
Normally COM1 (tty00) and COM2 (tty01) claim IRQ 3 and 4. So
you can choose (for example) IRQ 9 for the Hayes ESP card.
Then you have to add the appropriate lines in your kernel
configuration:
options COM_HAYESP
device com0 at isa? port "IO_COM1" irq 4
device com1 at isa? port "IO_COM2" irq 3
# com2: Hayes ESP serial port
device com2 at isa? port "IO_COM3" irq 9
For more information on com ports in general, try this URL:
http://comminfo.com/pages/ctsfaq01.htm#q6.
3.1.9 I found a bug in the kernel. How do I report it?
Both NetBSD and FreeBSD include a facility called 'bugfiler'.
While the instructions are included in both system, there is
still some apparent confusion about when to use (and when to
NOT use) bugfiler.
Jordan K. Hubbard (jkh@whisker.lotus.ie) provides us with this
short article for FreeBSD.
To send bug reports, you want to use the sendbug(1) command.
The entire package for sending and filing these bugs is known
as "the bugfiler", which is where the confusion stepped in,
but sendbug is definitely the command you want to use.
Second, it doesn't take a "net connection" to use sendbug,
since all it does is package up your "bug report form" and mail
it to us; no direct Internet connectivity is required, just mail.
So if you can send Internet mail you can use sendbug, or you can
also send mail to the `FreeBSD-bugs@freefall.cdrom.com' address
(do NOT send it to FreeBSD.cdrom.com since it will BOUNCE, this
is not the place to send bugs to, just to ftp stuff from!).
NetBSD has a similar facility, but has a different program and
host for bug reports. The program for NetBSD is called send-pr
and is slightly different in several respects. It is part of
the GNATS system, which the NetBSD core developers started using
in February of 1994. It is recommended that NetBSD users see the
man page on send-pr before filing bug reports.
For getting information from GNATS, see the file doc/BUGS.
There is a email interface to the NetBSD PR database. To query
the database send mail to "query-pr@gnats.netbsd.org". The mail
server will send a bug database listing back to the user.
There are several flags that are useful to send to the mail server.
The flags are entered in the "Subject" line:
--summary Display an one-line entry for each bug
--full Display the full entry for each bug
--help Display a help string containing the rest of the flags.
PR The Problem Report number of a particular bug
For example, to send a query about all the bugs:
$ Mail -s "--summary" query-pr@gnats.netbsd.org < /dev/null
If you want to know more about a particular bug, let's say bug 40:
$ Mail -s "--full 40" query-pr@gnats.netbsd.org < /dev/null
John Conklin is trying to get a page set up at the NetBSD WWW site
(www.netbsd.org) that will allow people to interactively query the
bug database. It should be operational soon.
3.2 What exactly is this config file, anyway? What are all of these
cryptic notations?
The config file is the list of all of the optional (and settings
for the mandatory) parts of the kernel. If the system is made
up of static object files which don't change, then all you
should ever need to do is modify the config file, reconfigure
the kernel objects, and relink. Since both NetBSD and FreeBSD
are distributed with source, these files are recompiled and a
kernel is constructed. Some of these have been deprecated, and
may not be in use for a particular version of the system
(i.e. ISO9660 and CD9660 are the same, CD9660 being the newer
version).
3.2.1 Okay, fine. Why shouldn't I just add every device I can find to
the kernel, so I'll never have to recompile this again?
Because it takes up space. The kernel is wired into memory, so
every byte it uses comes out of the pool of memory for everything
else. It can't page out sections that aren't in use. If your
kernel is larger than 640K, then it can't be loaded. You'll need
to use Julian Elischer's bootblocks to put it in high memory, which
seem to be fairly complex. Installing them (once they are
compiled) is as easy as using disklabel.
Newer versions of the *BSD kith provide the capability to build
a kernel that is larger than 640K. Complete instructions are
provided in the appropriate systems.
3.2.2 What should I remove from the kernel?
What do you need? If you only have an SCSI controller, you don't
need the wd0 device; if you have another kind of disk controller,
you don't need sd0. Unless you actually HAVE more than one Ethernet
controller, you should comment out all but one of them. If you don't
have an ethernet controller, you don't need any of the controllers or
NFS compiled in. Without a CD-ROM, ISOFS is kind of pointless. Just
look at what you have and think about what you really need.
3.2.3 I can't get enough remote login sessions or xterm sessions. I also
can only get four sessions working at a time. What can I do?
Increase the count of pseudo-terminals --
pseudo-device pty 12 # or whatever
Every pseudo terminal should have a /dev/pty* entry. If you have 12
pseudo terminals, you should also have at least 12 pty devices in the
/dev directory. The MAKEDEV script in /dev will create as many pseudo-
terminals as you tell it to.
3.2.4 How do I get ddb, the kernel debugger, compiled into the kernel
and running?
If you are using older versions of the 386BSD family, you will
need to add a line in your config file that looks like this:
device-pseudo ddb
If you are using a more recent version (the division is pretty
unclear about when the switch was made) and do not have any
device-pseudo entries, you will need to add the line:
options DDB
to your config file.
Build the kernel, then run dbsym on it:
% dbsym ./kernel
Install it and go for it. Ctl-Alt-Esc drops you into the debugger.
Note: DDB as shipped originally is a memory hog, and it is very
difficult to get a kernel small enough with enough fun things in it
to debug in 640K
On the NetBSD-sparc system, the L1-A is used by the the DDB
routines to drop you into the debugger.
3.2.5 I'm getting all kinds of errors when I try to build a new
version of GCC. How can I upgrade GCC to the most current version?
Yes, this will happen on most architectures on the first compile
of src/gnu/usr.bin/gcc/libgcc. As was stated in the mailing
list before, when you get to this error:
1) run a 'make' in the gcc directory. It will error out (most
likely) on libgcc.
1) Do a 'make install' at this point to install at least gcc,
cpp, and cc1.
2) go back and compile in src/gnu/usr.bin/gcc/ WITHOUT doing
a "make clean"
3) install everything in src/gnu/usr.bin/gcc
3.2.6 Can I patch the current running OS image?
In general, I think, the answer is no. The prevailing philosophy
seems to be that one should use sysctl for such things, but that
requires that one has already compiled in the ability to change
the specific variable in question. (I discovered this when I
wanted to patch tickadj at runtime; I added it to kernfs, and
when I offered the patches (which are quite small) I was told
sysctl was the `correct' way. What's incorrect about /kern was
never quite explained; the closest anyone came was to invoke
internationalization concerns. Of course, using /kern also
requires having compiled in support for tweaking the variable
you want to change.)
Besides, unless you've patched securelevel, I don't think there
is any good way to twiddle variables in the running kernel.
/dev/{,k}mem are, I believe, read-only once init sets securelevel
to 1.
If you need to know more about the sysctl command, try
"sysctl -a | more" to get a list of the parameters that can be
modified while the system is running.
3.2.7 Can I have more than one config file? Should I rename it to something
else? Any other hints?
You can create as many (or as few) config files as you desire. The
system, once the patchkit is applied, will have between 10 and 15,
each of which implements certain functions or features. In addition,
the normal place for the patchkit to make changes to the config files
is in the GENERICISA file. Since this file should remain unchanged
and available, it is always a good idea to copy this file to a
meaningful name and modify that file. In other words, change every
reference in 3.1.1 from GENERICISA to HAL (or whatever you call your
system).
One final note. Every /sys/compile directory takes up 800K or so;
you might want to watch to see how big these all get.
3.2.9 I have been getting a lot of "virtual memory exhausted" errors when
I am compiling a program with a really big static array. I have
128Meg of memory and 8Gig of swap. How can this be happening?
If you are using Csh, you can simply unlimit your processes in
your system level /etc/csh.cshrc file or your personal .cshrc
file. You can also modify your kernel so that the
amount of memory available is less limiting. J"org Wunsch
(j@tcd-dresden.de) provides us with this brief description:
From a recent posting i just made, regarding the problem how much
virtual memory one could get.
| On the other hand, i've also changed the definitions you
| mentioned. But i didn't like to modify the header files, and
| actually, modifying the values is as easy as:
|
| options "DFLDSIZ='(16 * 1024 * 1024)'"
| options "MAXDSIZ='(64 * 1024 * 1024)'"
|
| Include the above lines into your kernel's config file, reconfig
| and rebuild it.
|
This is just a hint for those people poking around with compiling
large source files. Especially, due to some gcc problems with large
static arrays, compiling X applications with huge bitmaps would
cause virtual memory trouble. Increasing the limits (o'course, as
long as the h/w resources suffice) could help there.
The default definitions for the above parameters are found in
/usr/include/machine/vmparam.h.
3.2.10 Where can I learn more about all this?
We've skipped over a lot of details here; the straight dope comes
from "Building Berkeley UNIX Kernels with Config", by Samuel J.
Leffler and Michael J. Karels.
3.2.11 Has the method for system call changed in NetBSD?
Q. Is there something special with the order I need to update
binaries and libraries in? If I drop in the new libc, everything
gives me a bus error. Both shared and static do this.
A. On the port-i386 list, Charles Hannum discussed changing the
system call mechanism (doing it via an INT instead of a call
gate). Looking at src/lib/libc/arch/i386/sys/syscall.S, it looks
like this change is in. Your binaries are (if you are using an
old kernel) probably crashing at each system call now.
So.. first compiling a new kernel with COMPAT_10 in it should make
your newly linked binaries work, I guess (have not recompiled since
the update myself yet). Also don't forget that you need to use
config.new now.
So, the answer is Yes, the mechanism for system calls has
changed, but the old method (using a call gate) is still
available by specifying COMPAT_10 in your configuration file.
3.2.12 Does anyone have a system building script that takes things like
building a new config and multiple config files into account?
The program I use to rebuild my kernel is available from
http://cynjut.neonramp.com/FAQ.htm.
3.2.12 How do I upgrade from my release version of NetBSD (and
probably FreeBSD) to the '-current' development sources?
Your best method _by far_ would to to pull down a snapshot
(assuming one exists for your arch) & install all except the etc
tarfile, then diff the etc tarfile contents with your setup to
check for any updates you should make.
If you really want to do it the hard way, here is your map.
# Remember to make yourself a new config (not config.old) kernel
# config file.
#
# This means any old config file you may have had from
# V1.1 needs to have the mainbus changes made. See GENERICADP and look
# for the isa0,eisa0,pci0 at root add the mainbus0 stuff and attached
# your buses to it. For updates to V1.2, you will need to make
# certain the COMPAT_* options are correct.
#
# Make sure you have COMPAT_11 as part of your kernel config
# options.
#
# This assumes that the -current source is in /usr/src
(cd /usr/src/usr.sbin/config ; make && make install && make cleandir)
# if you don't do this, config of your kernel config file will
# fail with errors in files.i386
(cd /usr/src/gnu/usr.bin/gas ; make && make install && make cleandir)
# if you don't do this, you won't be able to build locore.s, with
# errors about cpuid instruction not found
(cd /sys/arch/i386/conf ; config BCC13)
(cd /sys/arch/i386/compile/BCC13 ; make depend && make)
# copy new kernel to /, and boot off it
(cd /usr/src/share/mk ; make install)
# if you don't do this, you'll get errors building gcc, when it
# doesn't know how to make the manual pages (don't know how to
# make gcc.0)
#
# Rebuild yacc first or the yacc from v1.1 dies on Error Code 1 when
# it hits %expect 34 in /usr/src/gnu/gcc/common/c-parse.y. The
# new yacc included with V1.1B handles it, build and install it
# before it gets used in the gcc building.
#
# ***
#
(cd /usr/src/usr.bin/yacc; make && make install && make cleandir)
#
# The build now uses a new tsort option (-q) when it gets to the
# point of 'building standard cc1 library'. At this point if using
# the tsort that comes with V1.1 it dies on a Error 1 and no
# obvious explanation. Going to the common sub-directory under
# gcc (ie. /usr/src/gnu/usr.bin/gcc/common)
# and typing 'make' will reveal the full error.
#
(cd /usr/src/usr.bin/tsort; make && make install && make cleandir)
#
#
cd /usr/src/gnu/usr.bin/gcc
make
#
# Build will die here on libgcc
#
(cd cc; make install)
(cd cc1; make install)
(cd cc1obj; make install)
(cd cc1plus; make install)
(cd cpp; make install)
(cd g++; make install)
(cd libgcc; make; make install)
(cd libobjc; make; make install)
(cd /usr/src/gnu/usr.bin/gcc ; make && make install && make cleandir)
#
# Bernd Wiserner says that the ld.so that will be built next will
# work only with libc.so.12.0, not with libc.so.12.3
# His instructions to make a working ld.so follow:
# Do NOT run ldconfig while doing the folowing 5 lines ...
#
(cd /usr/src/include ; make && make includes)
#
cp -p /usr/libexec/ld.so /usr/libexec/ld.so.good
(cd /usr/src/gnu/usr.bin/ld ; make && make install && make cleandir)
cp -p /usr/libexec/ld.so.good /usr/libexec/ld.so
#
# Then build ld.so again ...
(cd /usr/src/gnu/usr.bin/ld ; make && make install && make cleandir)
# Thanks, Bernd...
# And now the libraries
(cd /usr/src/lib ; make && make install && make cleandir)
(cd /usr/src/bin/sh ; make && make install && make cleandir)
# and now back to the beginning and make the world
#
(cd /usr/src/bin ; make && make install && make cleandir)
(cd /usr/src/sbin ; make && make install && make cleandir)
mkdir /usr/share/doc/usd/13.viref
# otherwise "make install" in /usr/src/usr.bin will fail because
# the destination directory doesn't exist - from Tom Thai
# if you're using the obj directory hierarchy, use the
# initscan.c from the obj directory, otherwise use the initscan.c
# that was created here.
cd /usr/src/usr.bin/lex
if test -d /usr/src/usr.bin/lex/obj ; then
cp initscan.c obj/scan.c
else
cp initscan.c scan.c
fi
# if you don't, then lex won't be built
(cd /usr/src/usr.bin ; make && make install && make cleandir)
(cd /usr/src/usr.sbin ; make && make install && make cleandir)
(cd /usr/src/libexec ; make && make install && make cleandir)
(cd /usr/src/gnu ; make && make install && make cleandir)
(cd /usr/src/share ; make && make install && make cleandir)
mkdir /usr/share/doc/usd/30.rogue /usr/share/doc/usd/31.trek
# otherwise "make install" in /usr/src/games might fail
# if the dirs weren't already there
(cd /usr/src/games ; make && make install && make cleandir)
3.2.13 Is there a Makefile that does all that happy world-building
stuff?
3.2.14 Can NetBSD do cross compilation?
Sure. Check out the cross-compiling hosto for MacBSD for an
example. All of the NetBSD ports should be capable of doing
'pretty much' the same thing.
You can find Colin Wood's MacBSD cross compilation howto at
the following URL:
http://www.macbsd.com/macbsd/howto/cc-HOWTO
3.3 X11/XFree86/XS3
3.3.1 What options should I define to get the X extensions included?
Once you have applied the patch kit, the only thing left to do is to
modify the config file to include the following line:
options XSERVER, UCONSOLE
recompile the kernel and the kernel should support X.
3.3.2 Where can I get the FAQ for 'X'?
Steve Kotsopoulos' general 'X on Intel-based Unix' FAQ
available by anonymous ftp from export.lcs.mit.edu in
/contrib/faq/Intel-Unix-X-faq.
3.3.3 Why does X drop characters when using xdm? When I run xdm
from the console, it keeps losing keystrokes and the shift keys
don't always work. Why?
You need to run xdm with the -nodaemon flag. The reason is
xdm normally detaches from the keyboard. This allows other
processes (like getty) to return to reading from the keyboard.
A race condition results, where some keystrokes are sent to
xdm and others are sent to other processes. Using the
-nodaemon flag causes xdm to stay attached to the keyboard
so no other process can use it. This answer comes from Michael
C. Newell (root@wanderer.nsi.nasa.gov)
This bit of trivia is also covered in detail in the X FAQ and
the README that accompanies XFree86.
3.3.5 Under NetBSD and FreeBSD, xlock (or any other program that uses
passwords) fails to validate user passwords. Anyone know why?
OK, first off, make sure you're using the latest version of
xlock. If you've pulled it out of the /ports/ distribution then
you've got version 1.14. This is woefully ancient, so get the
latest, which at the time of writing is 2.7 (just do an archie
search for 'xlockmore-2.7' to find it).
Get this, compile it up and *make sure it's setuid root*. So,
after you've copied it into /usr/X11R6/bin or wherever, do the
following:
# chown root.wheel ./xlock
# chmod 4755 ./xlock
After that, it should work fine. The problem is that without
being setuid root xlock cannot read the real system passwords.
If you look in /etc/passwd you'll see that the passwords are
all '*'d out, because FreeBSD and NetBSD use shadow passwords.
That's what worked for me. A couple of other suggestions were
raised last time this problem cropped up:
o If you're using a pre-compiled xlock then it might have
been linked against the USA encryption libraries. If you're
outside the States then the encryption libraries are different,
and a US xlock will not be able to read the passwords. The fix
is to get the sources and recompile.
o If you've compiled it from source, made it setuid root, and
it still doesn't work, someone suggested changing the size of
the constant PASSLENGTH in xlock.c from '20' to '40'. I haven't
had to do this, and in v2.7 it's '64' anyway, so it shouldn't
be a problem.
3.5 I want to run 'XYZA' which is dynamically linked and from 'some
other operating system'. What special things do I have to do to
get it working?
Assuming you are trying to simulate a SVR4 system, you want to
create the '/emul/svr4' directory. You will also want to ensure
the "COMPAT_SVR4" option is in your kernel config file. This
option will change in 1.3-current and later, so be sure to check
out the config files included with those versions to ensure you
have the right options.
With this accomplished, you will need to copy several files into
the emulation directoy. A live example might be best at this
point. Most of this information is include in the
'compat_linux(8)' manpage.
First, set up the '/emul/linux' directory. Within this
directory (and virtually all of the emulation directories) you
will need the following:
etc/ (the emulated /etc directory)
lib/ (the emulated /lib directory)
usr/ (the emulated /usr directory)
From there, the simplest way to populate these directories is to
use a program like 'cpio' or 'tar' to build an archive. Having
a linux machine available will greatly simplify this. Copy
(basically everything from the Linux (or whatever) /etc and /lib
directories.
Any executables that you need from the Linux system should then
be copied into an appropriate place in the usr/ directory. For
example, when creating the Linux Doom system on NetBSD, you need
to have the following files (which should all come from the
Linux Doom distribution).
usr/X11R6/lib
libX11.so.6.0
usr/bin:
as86
ld86
usr/games/doom
README.linuxx
doom1.wad
linuxxdoom
sndserver.old
With Doom specifically, you may need to set 'DOOMWAD' (or
whatever it is) to usr/games/doom for it to work correctly.
In addition to the 'X' version, the native version should also
work (with recent versions of NetBSD (1.1+)
3.6 You promised to talk about timezones below. Are you going to?
>I've seen lots of stuff about timezone's being a bit dodgy,
>especially with most European timezones changing over to DST on
>the 27th March. I must say that that was NOT the case for me -
>pumpy (the author's system) is running off the
>/usr/share/zoneinfo/GB-Eire timezone file, (symbolically) linked
>to /etc/localtime, the CMOS clock is running off GMT, and the
>kernel is compiled with "timezone 0".
I use /usr/share/zoneinfo/MET as /etc/localtime and have the
kernel configured as
timezone -1 dst 4
(My wife is running DOS on this machine for doom sometimes ;-)
I set this strange dst value after diging in some old ultrix(?)
man pages. There were several dst-changing-method listed and 4
was the code for the central europe one.
This gave me an idea... I use an Ultrix box every day, so why not...
Now, I don't know how closely this applies to NetBSD since
Ultrix is based on a much older version of BSD, and this isn't
for the kernel config, but for an envar of timezone values, but
it's at least somewhat enlightening on possible meanings for
these things. Could someone in the know shed light on how
accurately this models the timezone stuff in the kernel config?
When I did "man timezone" this is what I got (portion of this
quoted from the DEC MIPS Ultrix 4.3a timezone(3) manpage,
slightly hacked by me (Michael L. VanLoon (michaelv@iastate.edu))
STD offset [DST [offset][,start[/time],end[/time]]]
the components of the string have the following meaning:
STD and DST Three or more characters that are the
designation for the standard (STD) or
summer (DST) time zone. Only STD is required;
if DST is missing, then summer time does not apply
in this locale. Upper- and lowercase letters are
explicitly allowed. Any characters except a
leading colon (:), digits, comma (,), minus (-),
plus (+), and ASCII NUL are allowed.
offset Indicates the value to be added to the local
time to arrive at Coordinated Universal Time. The
offset has the form:
hh[:mm[:ss]]
The minutes (mm) and seconds (ss) are optional.
The hour (hh) is required and may be a single
digit. The offset following STD is required. If
no offset follows DST, summer time is assumed to
be one hour ahead of standard time. One or more
digits may be used; the value is always
interpreted as a decimal number. The hour must
be between 0 and 24, and the minutes (and
seconds) - if present - between zero and 59. If
preceded by a "-", the time zone is east of the
Prime Meridian; otherwise it is west (which may
be indicated by an optional preceding "+").
start and end Indicates when to change to and back from summer
time. Start describes the date when the change
from standard to summer time occurs and end
describes the date when the change back
happens. The format of start and end must be
one of the following:
Jn The Julian day n (1 < n < 365). Leap
days are not counted. That is, in all
years, including leap years, February
28 is day 59 and March 1 is day 60. It
is impossible to explicitly refer to
the occasional February 29.
n The zero-based Julian day (0 < n <
365). Leap days are counted, and it is
possible to refer to February 29.
Mm.n.d The nth d day of month m (1 < n < 5,
0 < d < 6, 1 < m < 12). When n is 5 it
refers to the last d day of month m.
Day 0 is Sunday.
time The time field describes the time when,
in current time, the change to or from
summer time occurs. Time has the same
format as offset except that no leading
sign (a minus (-) or a plus (+) sign)
is allowed. The default, if time is not
given, is 02:00:00.
As an example of the previous format, if the TZ environment
variable had the value EST5EDT4,M4.1.0,M10.5.0 it would describe
the rule, which went into effect in 1987, for the Eastern time
zone in the USA. Specifically, EST would be the designation for
standard time, which is 5 hours behind GMT. EDT would be the
designation for DST, which is 4 hours behind GMT. DST starts
on the first Sunday in April and ends on the last Sunday in
October. In both cases, since the time was not specified, the
change to and from DST would occur at the default time of 2:00 AM.
The timezone call remains for compatibility reasons only; it is
impossible to reliably map timezone's arguments (zone, a
`minutes west of GMT' value and DST, a `daylight saving time in
effect' flag) to a time zone abbreviation.
3.6.1 How do you change the timezone on NetBSD (FreeBSD also?)?
Relink /etc/localtime. This will correct the difference from
GMT (or its trendy equivelant) to your local timezone. In
addition, the kernel needs to be modified to take the clock
time in your CMOS into account. Since most folks that run DOS
prefer to have their clocks set to local time, the timezone
hack was introduced to allow the kernel to adjust the CMOS
clock time to GMT. Once GMT has been computed, the
/etc/localtime file can be referenced to determine the
corrected local time.
All generic kernels are built using the offset from California
(why is anyone's guess:-) so just about everyone's clock will
be off by their timezone offset from Berkeley.
Also, it may pay to actually copy the correct timezone file
rather than link it. That way, you clock will be correct even
in single users mode (when the /usr partition is not even
mounted. The disadvantage of this is that anytime the timezone
file gets updated, you will need to make certain that the file
is copied into the /etc directory.
3.6.2 The translation between seconds-since-the-epoch and date
differs by about 18 seconds between BSD and other Unixes when
running ntp; why?
See ntp FAQ. Apparently, the time correction takes leap seconds
into account twice. The timezone files in our system take the
leap seconds into account in the kernel, and nntp takes the
same 18 leap seconds into account when syncing the time.
Because of that, the time will appear to be off by eighteen
seconds. (Henning Schulzrinne)
3.7 How can I implement CVS to track MY changes to the kernel source
tree, yet still follow the -current development tree?
I'll append the scripts I use, but be warned, they may bite you if
you are careless...
The main reason I use cvs import is to handle updates from the
``vendor''. The best way I've found is to import _exactly_ what
was shipped. This means unconfigured, and I put config.h, etc,
in .cvsignore. If I have to modify configure.in then obviously
I commit them :-)
#!/bin/sh
# This is a shell archive.
# remove everything above the "#!/bin/sh" line
# and feed to /bin/sh
# Use -c option to overwrite existing files
#
# Contents:
# README.import
# import.sh
# prune.sh
#
# packed by: <sjg@zen.void.oz.au> on Sat Jun 17 20:00:34 EST 1995
#
PATH=/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/ucb ; export PATH
if test -f README.import -a x$1 != x-c ; then
echo shar: Will not over-write existing file \"README.import\"
else
echo shar: Extracting \"README.import\" \(2902 characters\)
sed 's/^X//' >README.import << '!EOF'
XThe following may be of use to others wanting to use CVS to merge
XNetBSD sources with local changes but are not confident that they have
Xinterpreted the documentation accurately.
X
XMuch thanks to Chris Demetriou (cgd) for taking the time to spell out
Xthe steps he used when merging NetBSD sources without which I might
Xnot have taken the plunge myself :-) The following is based on Chris'
Xtips, though of course any errors are mine.
X
XOk. My NetBSD sources are kept in usr.src, if NetBSD is all
Xyou use CVS for you might want to simply call it src.
X
XI unpack tar files and/or sup into a directory /d2/current.
X
XTo import the entire tree I:
X
Xcd /d2/current/src
X
Xcvs import "-I! " -m "from netbsd-current as of 950508" usr.src NetBSD \
XNetBSD-950508 > /tmp/cvs.out 2>&1
X
XWhere:
Xusr.src is the repository where the imported data goes (so set it
X according to your own needs),
XNetBSD is a vendor tag.
XNetBSD-950508 is a release tag (there can be multiple release tags given).
X
XI use "-I! " as otherise some files that you need (like
Xbin/csh/USD.doc/csh.a) will be ignored.. The space after the ! is
Xneeded.
X
XIt takes quite a while. It is a good idea to save the output to a file.
X
XAt the end you may well get a message like:
X
X cvs checkout -jNetBSD:yesterday -jNetBSD usr.src
X
XThis means there were some conflicts between your local sources and
Xthe import. So I do what it says - but not in my working tree.
X
Xcd /d2/tmp
Xcvs checkout -jNetBSD:yesterday -jNetBSD usr.src > /tmp/merge.out 2>&1
X
XYou can then go find all the files with conflicts.
XEither grep '^C' /tmp/merge.out or find usr.src -name '.#*' -print
XGo edit them to resolce the conflicts. This is usually obvious.
X
XWhen happy.
X
Xcd /d2/tmp/usr.src
Xcvs commit -m"merged local changes with NetBSD-950508"
Xcd ..
Xrm -rf usr.src
X
XOk. Now if you are brave you can:
X
Xcd /usr.src (or whereever your working sources are)
Xcvs update
X
XFinally, you should occasionally make sure you remove old files.
X
XI use a script to do this. It does a diff between files on the NetBSD
Xbranch looking for the latest release tag (eg. NetBSD-950508).
XIf cvs diff remports that a file does not have that tag, it is because
Xit was not present in the import (ie removed).
X
XThe command sequence is:
X
Xcvs diff -s -r NetBSD -r NetBSD-950508 > /tmp/prune.out 2>&1
X
X# check that all went well...
Xcat /tmp/prune.out | awk '/Diffing/ { dir=$NF }
X/NetBSD-/ { file=$NF; print dir "/" file }' > /tmp/pruned
X
Xcat /tmp/pruned | xargs cvs tag -d NetBSD
Xcat /tmp/pruned | xargs rm -f
Xcat /tmp/pruned | xargs cvs delete
X
XNote that this is a slow process on a 486DX33! So don't plan on
Xmerging everything very often. Folk who mainly hack the kernel can do
Xsrc/sys more frequently. The sequence is analogous eg.
X
Xcd /d2/current/src/sys
X
Xcvs import "-I! " -m "from netbsd-current as of 950508" usr.src/sys NetBSD \
XNetBSD-950508 > /tmp/cvs.out 2>&1
X
Xetc.
X
XHope this helps.
X
X--sjg
!EOF
if test 2902 -ne `wc -c < README.import`; then
echo shar: \"README.import\" unpacked with wrong size!
fi
fi
if test -f import.sh -a x$1 != x-c ; then
echo shar: Will not over-write existing file \"import.sh\"
else
echo shar: Extracting \"import.sh\" \(290 characters\)
sed 's/^X//' >import.sh << '!EOF'
X:
Xtoday=`date '+%y%m%d'`
X
Xrep=${1:-usr.src}
X
X# -I! doesn't work, it needs a space after the !
Xcvs import "-I! " -m "from netbsd-current as of $today" $rep NetBSD NetBSD-$today
X
X# cd somewhere
X# cvs checkout -jNetBSD:yesterday -jNetBSD usr.src > /tmp/cvs.out 2>&1
X# merge changes and commit
!EOF
if test 290 -ne `wc -c < import.sh`; then
echo shar: \"import.sh\" unpacked with wrong size!
fi
chmod +x import.sh
fi
if test -f prune.sh -a x$1 != x-c ; then
echo shar: Will not over-write existing file \"prune.sh\"
else
echo shar: Extracting \"prune.sh\" \(491 characters\)
sed 's/^X//' >prune.sh << '!EOF'
X:
Xthen=${1:-`date '+%y%m%d'`}
XTF=/tmp/prune.$$
XTF2=/tmp/prune2.$$
X#S=-s
XS=
X
Xcase `echo -n .` in -n*) N=; C="\c";; *) N=-n; C=;; esac
X
Xask () { echo $N "${2:-$1?} "$C; read $1; }
X
Xcvs diff $S -r NetBSD -r NetBSD-$then > $TF 2>&1 || cat $TF >&2
X
Xcat $TF | awk '/Diffing/ { dir=$NF } /NetBSD-/ { file=$NF; print dir "/" file }' > $TF2
X
Xcat $TF2
Xask proceed
Xcase "$proceed" in
X[yY]*)
Xcat $TF2 | xargs cvs tag -d NetBSD
Xcat $TF2 | xargs rm -f
Xcat $TF2 | xargs cvs delete
X;;
Xesac
Xrm -f $TF $TF2
!EOF
if test 491 -ne `wc -c < prune.sh`; then
echo shar: \"prune.sh\" unpacked with wrong size!
fi
chmod +x prune.sh
fi
exit 0
3.8 Optional Op-codes for NetBSD, FreeBSD, and other systems.
MNEMONIC INSTRUCTION
----------------------------------
AAC Alter All Commands
AAR Alter At Random
AB Add Backwards
AFVC Add Finagle's Variable Constant
AIB Attack Innocent Bystander
AWTT Assemble With Tinker Toys
BAC Branch to Alpha Centauri
BAF Blow All Fuses
BAFL Branch And Flush
BBIL Branch on Blown Indicator Light
BBT Branch on Binary Tree
BBW Branch Both Ways
BCF Branch and Catch Fire
BCIL Branch Creating Infinite Loop
BDC Break Down and Cry
BDT Burn Data Tree
BEW Branch Either Way
BF Belch Fire
BH Branch and Hang
BOB Branch On Bug
BOD Beat On the Disk
BOI Bite Operator Immediately
BPDI Be Polite, Don't Interrupt
BPO Branch on Power Off
BRSS Branch on Sunspot
BST Backspace and Stretch Tape
BW Branch on Whim
CDC Close Disk Cover
CDIOOAZ Calm Down, It's Only Ones and Zeros
CEMU Close Eyes and Monkey with User space
CH Create Havoc
CLBR Clobber Register
CM Circulate Memory
CML Compute Meaning of Life
COLB Crash for Operators Lunch Break
CPPR Crumple Printer Paper and Rip
CRASH Continue Running After Stop or Halt
CRB Crash and Burn
CRN Convert to Roman Numerals
CS Crash System
CSL Curse and Swear Loudly
CU Convert to Unary
CVG Convert to Garbage
CWOM Complement Write-Only Memory
CZZC Convert Zone to Zip Code
DBZ Divide By Zero
DC Divide and Conquer
DMNS Do what I Mean, Not what I Say
DMPK Destroy Memory Protect Key
DPMI Declare Programmer Mentally Incompetent
DPR Destroy Program
DTC Destroy This Command
DTE Decrement Telephone Extension
DTVFL Destroy Third Variable From Left
DW Destroy World
ECO Electrocute Computer Operator
EFD Emulate Frisbee Using Disk Pack
EIAO Execute In Any Order
EIOC Execute Invalid Opcode
ENF Emit Noxious Fumes
EO Execute Operator
EROS Erase Read-Only Storage
FLI Flash Lights Impressively
FSM Fold, Spindle and Mutilate
GCAR Get Correct Answer Regardless
GDP Grin Defiantly at Programmer
GFM Go Forth and Multiply
IAE Ignore All Exceptions
IBP Insert Bug and Proceed
ISC Insert Sarcastic Comments
JTZ Jump to Twilight Zone
LCC Load and Clear Core
MAZ Multiply Answer by Zero
MLR Move and Lose Record
MWAG Make Wild-Assed Guess
MWT Malfunction Without Telling
OML Obey Murphy's Laws
PD Play Dead
PDSK Punch Disk
PEHC Punch Extra Holes on Cards
POCL Punch Out Console Lights
POPI Punch Operator Immediately
RA Randomize Answer
RASC Read And Shred Card
RCB Read Command Backwards
RD Reverse Directions
RDA Refuse to Disclose Answer
RDB Run Disk Backwards
RIRG Read Inter-Record Gap
RLI Rotate Left Indefinitely
ROC Randomize Opcodes
RPB Read, Print and Blush
RPM Read Programmer's Mind
RSD On Read Error Self-Destruct
RWCR Rewind Card Reader
SAI Skip All Instructions
SAS Sit and Spin
SCCA Short Circuit on Correct Answer
SFH Set Flags to Half mast
SLMTU=x SLIP MTU size
SLP Sharpen Light Pen
SPS Set Panel Switches
SPSW Scramble Program Status Word
SQPC Sit Quietly and Play with your Crayons
SRDR Shift Right Double Ridiculous
STA Store Anywhere
TARC Take Arithmetic Review Course
TPF Turn Power Off
TPN Turn Power On
UCB Uncouple CPU and Branch
ULDA Unload Accumulator
UP Understand Program
WBT Water Binary Tree
WHFO Wait Until Hell Freezes Over
WI Write Illegibly
WSWW Work in Strange and Wondrous Ways
XSP Execute Systems Programmer
ZAR Zero Any Register
If you have gotten this far, you deserved some humor.
--
Dave Burgess (The man of a thousand E-Mail addresses)
*bsd FAQ Maintainer / SysAdmin for the NetBSD system in my spare bedroom
"Just because something is stupid doesn't mean there isn't someone that
doesn't want to do it...."