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I think this is something every computer/tech/future programmer should have done at least once, even if you give up half way. I did this when I was in early hi

I think this is something every computer/tech/future programmer should have done at least once, even if you give up half way. I did this when I was in early high school. I just got into Linux, and this was super fun to do, it really showed me how an operating system worked and all the moving pieces and how they all fit. I did it all on a 1ghz machine with 256mb of ram, and some slow DSL. It took me a 4-5 days back then, but it was a blast for me. I haven't done it since. But today I am a senior devops engineer, and that knowledge was so valuable to me today. It is so much easier for me to reason about systems and linux in general. Honestly, I am really tempted to go through this again as a weekend project in a VM or something

pram 6y ago
Maybe. I did it and while it's certainly educational, most of it feels like a waste of time. The bulk of the entire process is running 'make' on random things and waiting. It's fine as a teenager (when I did it lol) but as an adult with a job? There are better/more productive ways to spend your time if you want to learn more about Linux probably.
- LargoLasskhyfv 6y ago
  Why wait? Maybe for the very first time doing it, afterwards do it in some VM, let it run in the background, suspend/resume as needed, deploy from there, and so on. OK, impractical when you have only one system and are new to this, but otherwise?
- travisgriggs 6y ago
  What would you suggest as an alternative? I've never done LFS. I'm intrigued by it. We use Debian in an IoT product similar in footprint to a pi. I know Linux OK, but some areas are still pretty opaque to me (or evolved, once upon a time I knew unit pretty well, systemd, I can manipulate it, but I'm no guru). So would LFS be a good fit for me? Or better some other educational adventure?
  - LargoLasskhyfv 6y ago
    IF your hardware is supported by NetBSD (to whichever necessary extent and use case) it offers the most advanced build system in my experience. Think of it like the complete LFS, with integrated basic X11 (optional), automated. Either selfhosted from installation, OR crosscompiled even from Microsoft Windows to whatever else is currently supported by it. One single way to operate on diverse systems. Even more advanced than the build system of FreeBSD, by which Gentoos Portage has been inspired. Similar thing for its PKGSRC, which is the package manager for anything not contained in that base system. ( http://pkgsrc.org http://pkgsrc.org / https://pkgsrc.se https://pkgsrc.se ) If you ever experienced that, you realize how big the mindfuck of any Linux is, and wish for being in a parallel universe where something like this would be the basic standard to build upon. Skim the http://netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/ http://netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/ edit: To be clear, this is not the normal mode of operation, you don't have to do this to use it, but it is integrated, so that you can generate install images from which to bootstrap other systems. http://netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/part-compile.html http://netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/part-compile.html
jabirali 6y ago
I also did this once in early high school, but I personally didn't feel it was worth the time. I had already used Gentoo for a year when I did LFS though, so that probably affected the learning potential. (I do believe that most of what I know about Linux, I know from the year I used Gentoo.)

pram 6y ago

Maybe. I did it and while it's certainly educational, most of it feels like a waste of time. The bulk of the entire process is running 'make' on random things and waiting. It's fine as a teenager (when I did it lol) but as an adult with a job? There are better/more productive ways to spend your time if you want to learn more about Linux probably.

LargoLasskhyfv 6y ago
Why wait? Maybe for the very first time doing it, afterwards do it in some VM, let it run in the background, suspend/resume as needed, deploy from there, and so on. OK, impractical when you have only one system and are new to this, but otherwise?
travisgriggs 6y ago
What would you suggest as an alternative? I've never done LFS. I'm intrigued by it. We use Debian in an IoT product similar in footprint to a pi. I know Linux OK, but some areas are still pretty opaque to me (or evolved, once upon a time I knew unit pretty well, systemd, I can manipulate it, but I'm no guru). So would LFS be a good fit for me? Or better some other educational adventure?
- LargoLasskhyfv 6y ago
  IF your hardware is supported by NetBSD (to whichever necessary extent and use case) it offers the most advanced build system in my experience. Think of it like the complete LFS, with integrated basic X11 (optional), automated. Either selfhosted from installation, OR crosscompiled even from Microsoft Windows to whatever else is currently supported by it. One single way to operate on diverse systems. Even more advanced than the build system of FreeBSD, by which Gentoos Portage has been inspired. Similar thing for its PKGSRC, which is the package manager for anything not contained in that base system. ( http://pkgsrc.org http://pkgsrc.org / https://pkgsrc.se https://pkgsrc.se ) If you ever experienced that, you realize how big the mindfuck of any Linux is, and wish for being in a parallel universe where something like this would be the basic standard to build upon. Skim the http://netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/ http://netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/ edit: To be clear, this is not the normal mode of operation, you don't have to do this to use it, but it is integrated, so that you can generate install images from which to bootstrap other systems. http://netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/part-compile.html http://netbsd.org/docs/guide/en/part-compile.html

jabirali 6y ago

I also did this once in early high school, but I personally didn't feel it was worth the time. I had already used Gentoo for a year when I did LFS though, so that probably affected the learning potential. (I do believe that most of what I know about Linux, I know from the year I used Gentoo.)