Building packages on a clean-room environmend

[LKRaider]

Would be nice to update this to cowbuilder + ccache, it really speeds things up

[mlind]

Would be nice to update this to cowbuilder + ccache, it really speeds things up

Yeah, I'll try to add the cowbuilder stuff in near future. I've been using cowbuilder ever since I discovered it, and it's great. COW stuff speeds up the overall process nicely. Does using cowbuilder + ccache make significant difference btw? I've seen posts about pbuilder + ccache though, but I haven't tried it yet myself.

[LKRaider]

Yep ccache only really helps if you have to recompile a package several times, like, for instance, when debugging patches and so on.

For one time compiles, it makes no difference.

[H.E. Pennypacker]

This guide is far too confusing. I am not even sure what this guide does. I am trying to create a .deb file from source, and I don't know if this guide will help. I am confused, because this guide is nothing like the one I followed the first time I created a deb package.

This is the guide I followed before:

http://doc.gwos.org/index.php/Deb_Guide

I can't follow it now, because I don't have a config file and I don't know how to create one.

[mlind]

@ H.E. Pennypacker
This guide is about building binaries from a debian source package in a minimal temporary sandbox. This guide is not about creating a debian source packages.

[H.E. Pennypacker]

mlind, I have downloaded ndiswrapper (the source), and I am trying to create a deb file. I do not want to use checkinstall. Will your guide work for me?

Please do not ask why I am trying to create a deb file for ndiswrapper. I just am. I know I can download ndiswrapper from Synaptic, and that's why I ask that you do not ask me why I am creating a package.

[mssever]

mlind, I have downloaded ndiswrapper (the source), and I am trying to create a deb file. I do not want to use checkinstall. Will your guide work for me?

Please do not ask why I am trying to create a deb file for ndiswrapper. I just am. I know I can download ndiswrapper from Synaptic, and that's why I ask that you do not ask me why I am creating a package.

This thread is for building packages that have already been debianized. If a Debian source package meets your needs, you can use this howto. If you're using the vanilla ndiswrapper source, you'll have to create a debian subfolder with the proper contents, which this guide doesn't address.

EDIT: You also will have to build Debian source package before you can build a .deb. I use

debuild -S

to build a Debian source package. Generating a proper debian directory is most of the battle. But, you might cheat and use (and modify) an existing Debian package for starters.

[mlind]

mlind, I have downloaded ndiswrapper (the source), and I am trying to create a deb file. I do not want to use checkinstall. Will your guide work for me?

Please do not ask why I am trying to create a deb file for ndiswrapper. I just am. I know I can download ndiswrapper from Synaptic, and that's why I ask that you do not ask me why I am creating a package.

What mssever said

Have you tried ndiswrapper in Debian unstable?

# deb-src http://ftp.debian.org/debian unstable main contrib non-free

mkdir /tmp/ndiswarpper
cd /tmp/ndiswrapper
apt-get source ndiswrapper
sudo pbuilder build ndiswrapper_1.43-1.dsc

?

[H.E. Pennypacker]

msserver, thanks for the explanation.

If you're using the vanilla ndiswrapper source, you'll have to create a debian subfolder with the proper contents, which this guide doesn't address.

That's what I am trying to do, but I have not found a thorough guide on how to do this. I have found guides on creating .deb packages, but they specifically mention I need a config file. The problem is that ndiswrapper's source does not come with a config file (while most other applications do, since you do the ./configure step while compiling). I have found nothing to show me how to create a config file.

mlind, I have not tried that. I already have the source (downloaded from ndiswrapper's website) so I don't know why you are telling me to apt-get it. Also, I do not know enough about pbuilder, but I don't think it does what I am trying to do. The only thing I am trying to do is create a deb package ..exactly like the ones you'll find on www.getdeb.net or anywhere else.

[mlind]

What I was trying to suggest is not to reinvent the wheel when someone has already done it (debianized the source for you). If my earlier posts left you wondering, then this is not thread to help you further, sorry.