Fatdog64 build recipes

I've just uploaded the build recipes for all the official packages of Fatdog64. They are available here.

They are tarballs, containing the recipe proper, and other supporting files such as patches, desktop files, icons, etc.

They have previously been available in the binary packages (every official Fatdog binary package contains the build recipe tarball inside); but to make it easier for people to search and re-use; we have decided to extract them and upload it in separate place.

The recipe itself is just a shell script, to be used with Fatdog's pkgbuild system. If you want to use it to build it as is, you need that build system which you can get from here. Warning: only tested to work in Fatdog. However, if you just want to examine how the build is done; you can just look at the recipe - it's simple enough to understand.

Note: If you're already on Fatdog64, don't bother getting that. pkgbuild is already included as part of Fatdog's devx.

These build recipes will be updated from time to time; but I can't guarantee any "freshness" of any of these recipes. And oh, they come as totally unsupported - feel free to use them as you see fit, but the risk is all yours. And while I'd be glad to hear suggestion and/or patches for them; please don't come to me for support. My hands are already full of other things.

Posted on 18 Mar 2017, 05:55 - Categories: Fatdog64 Linux
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Real-time Kernel for Fatdog64 710

I built and uploaded real-time kernel for Fatdog64.

It's based on Linux 4.4.52 - the latest as of today; and from the same branch as the 710 kernel (4.4.35); and one of the LTS (long-term-support) version; patched with 4.4.50-rt63 patches.

I could manage only the "Basic RT" (PREEMPT_RTB) configuration. This is somewhat between "low-lateny" and "fully preemptible" configurations. I tried the "fully preemptible" (PREEMPT_FULL) configuration but while it gave me a kernel binary; it didn't work satisfactorily --- too many lockups at too unpredictable times.

It has been a very long time since I built an RT kernel (the last one was probably around Linux 3.4 days) which can run in fully preemptible manner. The RT patches aren't always stable either; depending on the kernel version they can be good, okay, or just bad; so I suppose for today, this is the best I can get.

Apart from changing the pre-emption level to PREEMPT_RTB, I made two more (unrelated) changes:
- I increased timer frequency to 1000 Hz.
- I added SDA_HWDEP support.

The first change is done because I plan to use the RT kernel for some audio work that requires lower latency and higher timer resolution.

The second one is done because by tweaking the codec's amplifier I could make my laptop speaker louder by using HDA Analyzer (which requires HDA_HWDEP support); but it turns out to be wishful thinking.

Anyway, enjoy. If you need a guide on how to use the new kernel, look here. There is a new way to test kernels without having to do all above, but it hasn't been written yet. I'll write it when I have time (and motivation) - basically you use "extrasfs" boot parameter to load the kernel-modules.sfs instead of replacing the kernel modules inside your initrd.

Posted on 12 Mar 2017, 05:30 - Categories: Fatdog64 Linux
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Fatdog64 is now listed in Distrowatch

I have been notified of this for a while, but because of my other stuff I forgot to announce it here.

Distrowatch is basically a site that monitors various Linux distributions and their updates; as well as news about what's new; what's coming up; and other interesting stuff about Linux distributions. If you haven't been there already, you should check it out.

Fatdog64 has been recommended to Distrowatch for a quite a while, languishing in the "submission queue" for years. Apparently this year is the year - we finally are listed there: http://distrowatch.com/fatdog.

Yay!



Posted on 12 Mar 2017, 04:34 - Categories: Fatdog64 Linux
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Time flies

Wow, it is now the third month of 2017. I haven't written anything for 3 months!

Well, things do get quiet during the holiday season; and as usual there are real-life issues that I need to take care of.

In between, things have happened. Fatdog64 is now featured on Distrowatch: http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=fatdog, yay!

Also, we recruited new member, "step" from the Puppy Linux forum. Before joining, step is known as maintainers of a few programs used in Puppy Linux, such as gtkmenuplus, findnrun, and others. Welcome step!

Though this blog is quiet, the Fatdog development is not. It continues nicely in the background with comfortable pace: bug fixes, minor feature updates, etc. Bug fixes isn't always possible, but package updates are visible here. Also checks out Fatdog contributed packages thread.

On the other news, LFS 8.0 has been released and while it is tempting to conclude that Fatdog 800 will follow suit soon, it won't happen.

While 710 (which is based on LFS 7.5/CLFS 3.0) is getting older, it has no major problem as its program and libraries continue to be updated. Fatdog 700/710 has acquired a large number of third party contributed software and we plan to keep them usable for a foreseeable time to come, by supporting 700-series until at least the end of the year. There may be one or two more releases (720? 721? or 730?) but they will use the same base.


Posted on 5 Mar 2017, 14:43 - Categories: Fatdog64 Linux
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Fatdog64 710 Final is released

The final version of Fatdog64 710 has been released. A lot of improvements since the last Beta release in August 2016; whose details you can see in the Release Notes.

You can also leave your feedback in the Puppy Linux forum, where we made our Announcement.

Get it from the usual locations:
Primary site - ibiblio.org (US)
nluug.nl - European mirror
aarnet.edu - Australian mirror
uoc.gr - European mirror

It may take a while for the mirrors to update.

Posted on 4 Dec 2016, 18:34 - Categories: Fatdog64 Linux
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Fatdog64 710 Beta Release

In development for over 3 months, this beta release contains many fixes and improvements since the last Alpha release. It is the continuing journey towards Final, which we aim to make it happen soon.

During this beta period we are greatly helped by Jake SFR (from Puppy Linux forum) which contributes bug reports, bug fixes, and feature improvement patches; we were also helped by forum member step who, in addition to providing the bug report and patches, also maintains key Fatdog applications such as wallpaper-manager and findnrun, among others. The beta release would not be as good as it is were it not due to the effort of these two gentlemen. So our heartful thanks to them.

Release Notes
Announcement

Get it from the usual locations:
Primary site - ibiblio.org (US)
uoc.gr - European mirror
nluug.nl - European mirror
aarnet.edu - Australian mirror

It may take a while for the mirrors to update because ibiblio has been having problems recently.

Posted on 31 Aug 2016, 00:06 - Categories: Fatdog64 Linux
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Fatdog64 FatdogArm double release

FatdogArm Beta4 is released.
Release Notes
Downloads

Fatdog64 710 alpha is released.
Release Notes
Forum announcement
Downloads.

As usual you can find them on ibiblio's mirrors too:
uoc.gr, nluug.nl, aarnet.edu



Posted on 16 Apr 2016, 23:31 - Categories: Fatdog64 FatdogArm Linux
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Fatdog64 710 builds 32-bit/64-bit wine

Fatdog64 710 passed its ultimate test this weekend: the ability to build wine that supports running 32-bit and 64-bit Windows applications.

To support 32-bit Windows apps, wine must be built in 32-bit mode. To support 64-bit Windows apps, wine must be built in 64-bit mode. To build wine that can support both, it must be built in both 32-bit and 64-bit mode. That requires multilib support.

And that's the new, major feature of Fatdog64 710: Fatdog64 now supports multilib natively. Building wine in 32-bit and 64-bit mode is the final test that its multilib capability is complete, working, and correct.

Happy Easter everyone.

Posted on 27 Mar 2016, 21:38 - Categories: Fatdog64 Linux
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Fatdog64 710 enters testing stage

Fatdog64 710 is the next generation of Fatdog64. It is still part of 700 series but considered as another branch; because it has a new build system (both for system and user packages) as well has other infrastructure changes which I prefer not to disclose for now. It share the common base as 700 thus many software packages will be largely backward and forward compatible between 700/710 although some may not, due to the usage of many newer libraries in 710.

710 has been in the works for about a year, since the first 700 release went final, but it got stuck there as real-life priorities took over. Most recently, I have 710 ready for testing since early Feb this year but I had to postpone it because I need my laptop to be stable and can't affort running a test OS at that time.

Yesterday, however, I took the plunge and migrated my savedir to 710. The testing process has begun.

Posted on 13 Mar 2016, 15:41 - Categories: Fatdog64 Linux
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Fatdog702 ISO re-uploaded

Due to the CVE-2015-7547 scare that hits glibc recently, plus the fact that it is not easy to update glibc, I've decided to re-upload Fatdog64 702 that was uploaded a few days ago with a new set of ISO, devx, and nls SFS that contains a new patched glibc.

The CVE patch itself comes from the Debian team (since the official patch only applies cleanly to latest glibc - not to glibc 2.19 that 702 uses). Thank you Debian.

The new packages md5sums are as follows:
---
c7bff729fc3a6100246020466e94e6af Fatdog64-702.iso
54cc4ef28741e9e9844ab6f5ca66d41c fd64-devx_702.sfs
975d127442a8a336ec14dc743d51ad61 fd64-nls_702.sfs


Posted on 18 Feb 2016, 00:23 - Categories: Fatdog64 Linux
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