[Gllug] Debian Task Installer v1.1.8 (woody)

[Peter Ball]

Thanks Bruce

That's most helpful clarification :-)

On 1 Jul 2003 at 16:41, itsbruce at uklinux.net wrote:

> On Tue, Jul 01, 2003 at 03:41:43PM +0100, Peter Ball wrote:
> > I'm only installing server stuff (i.e. no desktop stuff) the
> > question is do I need to tick "C and C++" in the Development section
> > in order to compile drivers etc or is that only needed if I'm
> > actually writing in C myself ?
> 
> You will need a basic set of development tools for that, yes.  The
> Linux kernel and driver modules are written in C, so you need a C
> compiler and various helper utilities to roll your own kernel. 
> However, you don't need to bother with that until you do decide to
> make your own custome kernel.  When you install a kernel source
> package, the package system will prompt you to install any needed
> development tools at that time.
> 
> You may never need to compile your own kernel or drivers, though.  It
> depends upon your needs and your hardware.  Many people who install
> Linux these days never use anything but the stock kernels that come
> with their distribution.
> 
> That said, the Debian default set-up is more conservative than most
> and you may well need to compile your own to deal with newer hardware.

Life's not as simple as that.  I'm doing my first linux install for a DNS server on a miniITX 
m'board and the the linux driver instructions for the builtin ethernet say:
 
   "The instructions listed below are for linux driver installation. You must
    compile the source code to generate rhinefet.o and use insmod command to
    insert rhinefet.o as module....."

No problem I've temporarily stuck a lan card which the install cd's recognize, once I've got the 
m'board ethernet working i'll pull the lan card out.  It doesn't really matter for this machine.  But 
the next one will be an ethernet to ethernet router for the inside edge of my dmz and as the 
miniITXs only have one usable expansion slot so its essential to use the built in lan.

Thanks again :-)

-----------------------------------
Peter Ball
Computers For Linguists
peter.ball at marguet-ball.net
Tel:    +44(0)20 7732 1741
Fax:    +44(0)20 7358 9214
Mobile: +44(0)77 1968 2913
45 Endwell Road, London, SE4 2PQ, United Kingdom


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