UNIX, I want to build my own OS

[yourlife]

After Debian remastering became a bitch, and the fact that this is so much more fun, I want to build my own UNIX OS. Except I'd like a A-Z guide to do so, as I have no idea what to do. Once I started, I generally pick up on what I'm ment to do

Don't say "Google it", I've tried that. the closest I got was a website several years out of date

[Kintaro]

Well, BSD is the easiest system ever to customize because of how it is made. FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD keep the source for the base install in /usr/src. For OpenBSD this means that bind, dhcpd, apache 1.3, ssh, everything that comes with the base install is there. It is built simply by typing 'make build' and you can retarget it so it builds to the packages the BSD installer uses to install. Which is great because you can be incredibly lazy, build your own tarballs for the system and just replace and use the exact same installer.

http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/install-diff-media.html
http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/kernelconfig.html
http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/makeworld.html

These are some links to the subject, OpenBSD has an entire section of its user guide devoted to this subject as well.

http://openbsd.org/faq/faq5.html

You can also change small parts of the system, you might go into /usr/src/bin/mount and change how the mount command works and then you can run make on that and install it. BSD is a hell of a lot less cluttered than GNU/Linux being structured like that, as to do the same on Linux you are going to need to remove the util-linux package, replace it with a dummy package, download the util-linux source and change mount and then install it, or build a deb or whatever. When it comes to customizing a system and producing your own fork, BSD always wins. In fact in terms of simplicity and order it wins hands down. Linux will always have the drivers though, because like a BSD base system is all in once neat ball of code, so is the Linux kernel, which has a hell of a lot more infrastructure for the guys at ATI and nVidia.

[piratePenguin]

Google Linux From Scratch

[Kintaro]

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=having+troubles+with+linux+from+scratch - About 6,970,000 results

I don't think that is wise.

[Calum]

no, you googled "having troubles with linux from scratch".

It's a pretty obvious difference, and i think if a person is incapable of seeing the difference between "linux from scratch" and "having troubles with linux from scratch" then, yes, they should probably stick to ms windows.

[Kintaro]

no, you googled "having troubles with linux from scratch".

It's a pretty obvious difference, and i think if a person is incapable of seeing the difference between "linux from scratch" and "having troubles with linux from scratch" then, yes, they should probably stick to ms windows.

Why are you even entering a discussion about something far beyond your own understanding about computers? I don't think you are capable of contributing anything useful to a technical discussion due to you being rather useless with the inner workings of linux. You don't know anything about Linux from scratch. The fact is that LFS is a complicated mess to get doing anything useful on desktop.

[piratePenguin]

no, you googled "having troubles with linux from scratch".

It's a pretty obvious difference, and i think if a person is incapable of seeing the difference between "linux from scratch" and "having troubles with linux from scratch" then, yes, they should probably stick to ms windows.

Why are you even entering a discussion about something far beyond your own understanding about computers? I don't think you are capable of contributing anything useful to a technical discussion due to you being rather useless with the inner workings of linux. You don't know anything about Linux from scratch. The fact is that LFS is a complicated mess to get doing anything useful on desktop.

Any idiot that tries to build Linux From Scratch is doomed to have trouble with it. But if you're patient, willing to learn and you want to spend hours for a few days building a system that probably won't be safe to use for longer than a month, go ahead. I learned a lot that way.

But if you want to start somewhere really useful, let me suggest learning Conary, learning about rBuilder Online and everything about it's developer rPath. Why apt and yum and all that shite haven't died yet is beyond me. I said years ago Conary was the best package manger EVER EVER and the competition is just the same. If you want to unleash a monster on the world learn Conary and produce a good distro based on it.

[yourlife]

I can't argue, Linux From Scratch failed every time I tried making it, and GCC build was a complete bitch. I can't even count the error messages. And GRUB also made me feel like nuking someone. Very simply, it would be easyer ripping Mac and dealing with getting sued than building LFS

[piratePenguin]

I can't argue, Linux From Scratch failed every time I tried making it, and GCC build was a complete bitch. I can't even count the error messages. And GRUB also made me feel like nuking someone. Very simply, it would be easyer ripping Mac and dealing with getting sued than building LFS

Well, I assure you there is something causing those error messages. And it is probably one thing that is wrong with the system or with what you are doing that is causing "too many error messages to count". This is almost always the case, so there you go, you're already learning new things about software and compiling and binaries and compatibility.  If you continue down the LFS path and adopt a different attitude, figuring out whats wrong you will eventually know almost everything about all of those things.

The first thing I learned about Linux is Retry doesn't work, your only options are Abort and Figure It Out  8)

Seriously, LFS isn't for everyone. And if you wanna make a useful OS you'll find it's an entirely different problem to building LFS. You need to start with a package manager, and if you learn conary you'll be able to package your own operating system tomorrow (that's what rBuilder Online is for), and if you learn it well you'll be able to change any detail, and provide your users the absolute best experience in package management, ever. Conary should be ported to Windows, OS X, and be the industry standard way to distribute software. Cannot speak highly enough of it (and I haven't used it in about 2-3 years).

[yourlife]

rBuilder = Annoying notice saying "Created by rBuilder", I don't want that at all, also I want to tweak linux right down to stupid things like the default wallpaper or the login screen etc etc

[piratePenguin]

rBuilder = Annoying notice saying "Created by rBuilder", I don't want that at all, also I want to tweak linux right down to stupid things like the default wallpaper or the login screen etc etc

Learn conary.

I'll say no more.

[yourlife]

rBuilder = Annoying notice saying "Created by rBuilder", I don't want that at all, also I want to tweak linux right down to stupid things like the default wallpaper or the login screen etc etc

Learn conary.

I'll say no more.

Oh jesus, I seem to be having a rapid learning year, in one year I managed to learn:
More advanced HTML
CSS
PHP
And now I have to learm C++ (to shut someone up)
And Conary so I can do this shit, I think this can all go on hold for a while

[Kintaro]

Learn C first, C++ later.

[piratePenguin]

learn python, dont learn c, c++, or php. it isnt the 90s anymore and "being able to program" isnt important: being able to build applications is important.

learn python, build your web apps using pylons or another python framework.

[worker201]

learn python, dont learn c, c++, or php. it isnt the 90s anymore and "being able to program" isnt important: being able to build applications is important.

I think this is worthy of a discussion all its own.