ATOzTOA

gccgo Debian Package

2009-11-27T09:56:00.001+05:30

Download gccgo debian binary from here... gccgo_4.5.0-1_i386.deb or from sourceforge... file size: 27MB...

As building gccgo was a success, I am going to try making a debian package for gccgo...

One method is using checkinstall after make... but I am gonna take the standard method... as described here...

Ok, lets start...

Installing necessary & recommended packages...

$ sudo apt-get -y install dpkg-dev file libc6-dev make patch perl autoconf automake dh-make debhelper gnupg fort77 gpc xutils lintian pbuilder gcc g++ devscripts fakeroot debian-policy developers-reference

...done

On second thought, I will go through MOTU... Masters Of The Universe... people who maintains the Universe section of Ubuntu... I am not sure what is in store, will tell you on the way :)

I am using this video on youtube...

Adding my name and email address into .bashrc...

$ echo -e '\nexport DEBFULLNAME="ATOzTOA"\nexport DEBEMAIL="webmaster@atoztoa.com"' >> ~/.bashrc
$ . ~/.bashrc

...done

Setting up gpg (GNU Privacy Guard)... for user identification...

$ gpg --gen-key

Staying with the defaults... when it asked for verification, I said "y"... entering real name... email... no comments... "Okay"... choosing passphrase... repeating passphrase... the randomizer needs system events for generating entropy... we will do something else in the meanwhile...

Setting up pbuilder... creating file .pbuilderrc ...

$ echo 'COMPONENTS="main restricted universe multiverse"' > ~/.pbuilderrc

Creating initial environment...

$ sudo pbuilder create

...will take some time...

By that time, gpg is complete...

Now... let's get to business...

After spending sometime with the video, I think the debian tutorial will be a better starting point... but, that doesn't talk about adding name/email and setting up GPG keys... so the MOTU video was in fact the starting point...

Cleaning up gccgo...

$ cd ../gccgo
$ make clean
$ make distclean

Renaming gccgo to gccg-4.5.0...

$ mv gccgo gccgo-4.5.0

Making a tar.gz file

$ tar cfvz gccgo-4.5.0.tar.gz --exclude=.svn gccgo-4.5.0

Running dh_make... it is an utility for debianizing... (run only once!!!)

$ dh_make -f ../gccgo-4.5.0.tar.gz -s -c gpl

...verified the settings ...done

A new directory named debian is created and a set of files are created there...

Let's check out the control file...

Need to find out the build dependencies...

strace -f -o /tmp/log ./configure
       # or make instead of ./configure, if the package doesn't use autoconf
       for x in `dpkg -S $(grep open /tmp/log|\
                           perl -pe 's!.* open\(\"([^\"]*).*!$1!' |\
                           grep "^/"| sort | uniq|\
                           grep -v "^\(/tmp\|/dev\|/proc\)" ) 2>/dev/null|\
                           cut -f1 -d":"| sort | uniq`; \
             do \
               echo -n "$x (>=" `dpkg -s $x|grep ^Version|cut -f2 -d":"` "), "; \
             done

...this will print out the packages needed for building...

the finished control file...

Source: gccgo
Section: devel
Priority: optional
Maintainer: ATOzTOA 
Build-Depends: debhelper (>= 7), autotools-dev, flex, texinfo, binutils (>= 2.20-0ubuntu2 ), coreutils (>= 7.4-2ubuntu1 ), libacl1 (>= 2.2.47-2 ), libattr1 (>= 1 ), libc6 (>= 2.10.1-0ubuntu15 ), libc6-dev (>= 2.10.1-0ubuntu15 ), libc6-i686 (>= 2.10.1-0ubuntu15 ), libgmp3c2 (>= 2 ), libgmp3-dev (>= 2 ), libmpfr1ldbl (>= 2.4.1-1ubuntu1 ), libmpfr-dev (>= 2.4.1-1ubuntu1 ), libncurses5 (>= 5.7+20090803-2ubuntu2 ), libselinux1 (>= 2.0.85-2ubuntu2 ), linux-libc-dev (>= 2.6.31-14.48 ), locales (>= 2.9+git20090617-3 ), mime-support (>= 3.46-1ubuntu1 ), zlib1g (>= 1 )
Standards-Version: 3.8.1
Homepage: http://golang.org

Package: gccgo
Architecture: any
Depends: ${shlibs:Depends}, ${misc:Depends}
Description: A Google Go frontend for gcc
 A compiler for the Go language. The gccgo compiler is a new frontend for gcc, the widely used GNU compiler. Although the frontend itself is under a BSD-style license, gccgo is normally used as part of gcc and is then covered by the GNU General Public License.
 .
 Note that gccgo is not the 6g compiler; see the Installing Go instructions for that compiler.

Updated copyright file...

Updated files:

$ vim changelog
$ vim rules

Added "--enable-languages=c,c++,go --with-arch=i686" to configure section in rules...

Removed files:

$ rm README.Debian
$ rm cron.d.ex
$ rm dirs
$ rm docs
$ rm gccgo.doc-base.EX
$ rm emacsen-*.ex
$ rm init.d.ex
$ rm init.d.lsb.ex
$ rm gccgo.default.ex
$ rm manpage.*
$ rm menu.ex
$ rm watch.ex
$ rm -v pre* post*

No scheduling... no special directories... no additional documentation... no daemon... no man pages... no menu items... not watching original source... no maintainer scripts...

Ready to rebuild everything...

$ dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot

...now time to wait... :)

Showed some error!!! I did a mistake while manually updating a source file... need to try again...

Tried next night... as it takes more than seven hours to complete... so I will be sleeping while it runs... it showed error... no disk space :)

Need to try again...

Tried again... asked for the passphrase for my GPG key, twice... success...

Got these files as output...

gccgo_4.5.0-1.diff.gz
gccgo_4.5.0-1.dsc
gccgo_4.5.0-1_i386.changes
gccgo_4.5.0-1_i386.deb
gccgo_4.5.0.orig.tar.gz

Now it is complete... the gccgo_4.5.0-1_i386.deb file is what I need... I tried double clicking on gccgo_4.5.0-1_i386.deb... Package Installer came up... I clicked "Install Package"...

(Reading database ... 171010 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking gccgo (from gccgo_4.5.0-1_i386.deb) ...
dpkg: error processing gccgo_4.5.0-1_i386.deb (--install):
 trying to overwrite '/usr/share/man/man1/cpp.1.gz', which is also in package cpp 4:4.4.1-1ubuntu2
dpkg-deb: subprocess paste killed by signal (Broken pipe)
Processing triggers for install-info ...
install-info: warning: no info dir entry in `/usr/share/info/menu.info.gz'
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Errors were encountered while processing:
 gccgo_4.5.0-1_i386.deb

Trying to force overwrite...

$ sudo dpkg --force-overwrite -i gccgo_4.5.0-1_i386.deb
(Reading database ... 171010 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking gccgo (from gccgo_4.5.0-1_i386.deb) ...
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
 trying to overwrite '/usr/share/man/man1/cpp.1.gz', which is also in package cpp 4:4.4.1-1ubuntu2
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
 trying to overwrite '/usr/share/man/man1/gcc.1.gz', which is also in package gcc 4:4.4.1-1ubuntu2
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
 trying to overwrite '/usr/share/man/man1/g++.1.gz', which is also in package g++ 4:4.4.1-1ubuntu2
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
 trying to overwrite '/usr/share/man/man1/gcov.1.gz', which is also in package gcc 4:4.4.1-1ubuntu2
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
 trying to overwrite '/usr/bin/gcc', which is also in package gcc 4:4.4.1-1ubuntu2
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
 trying to overwrite '/usr/bin/g++', which is also in package g++ 4:4.4.1-1ubuntu2
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
 trying to overwrite '/usr/bin/i486-linux-gnu-g++', which is also in package g++ 4:4.4.1-1ubuntu2
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
 trying to overwrite '/usr/bin/cpp', which is also in package cpp 4:4.4.1-1ubuntu2
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
 trying to overwrite '/usr/bin/gcov', which is also in package gcc 4:4.4.1-1ubuntu2
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
 trying to overwrite '/usr/bin/i486-linux-gnu-gcc', which is also in package gcc 4:4.4.1-1ubuntu2
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
 trying to overwrite '/usr/lib/libgomp.so.1.0.0', which is also in package libgomp1 0:4.4.1-4ubuntu8
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
 trying to overwrite '/usr/lib/libgomp.so.1', which is also in package libgomp1 0:4.4.1-4ubuntu8
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
 trying to overwrite '/usr/lib/libstdc++.so.6', which is also in package libstdc++6 0:4.4.1-4ubuntu8
Setting up gccgo (4.5.0-1) ...
Processing triggers for install-info ...
install-info: warning: no info dir entry in `/usr/share/info/menu.info.gz'
Processing triggers for man-db ...

...success!!!

The issue: gccgo is getting installed to the same location as gcc, so it needs to overwrite the existing gcc files... I will have to modify the configuration... later...

$ gccgo hello.go 
$ ./a.out
Hello, world; or Καλημέρα κόσμε; or こんにちは 世界

Trying remove...

$ sudo dpkg -r gccgo
(Reading database ... 172072 files and directories currently installed.)
Removing gccgo ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Processing triggers for install-info ...
install-info: warning: no info dir entry in `/usr/share/info/menu.info.gz'

...sucess!!!

Trying install again... success!!!

Trying purge...

$ sudo dpkg -P gccgo
(Reading database ... 172072 files and directories currently installed.)
Removing gccgo ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Processing triggers for install-info ...
install-info: warning: no info dir entry in `/usr/share/info/menu.info.gz'

Trying install again... success!!!

Now, I need to try installing on a fresh installation... lets go to the Live CD...

Oops... Kubuntu 9.10 Live CD is not botting in my machine, maybe lack of resources...

Booted Ubuntu 9.10... installed the debian package...

No dependencies... it got installed like a breeze... working fine too... :)

So, the gccgo debian package, gccgo_4.5.0-1_i386.deb, is ready to be released...

I have uploaded the file... please try it out and comment...

Download from here... gccgo_4.5.0-1_i386.deb or from sourceforge... file size: 27MB...

Rearranging Widgets in Blogger

2009-11-26T21:44:00.002+05:30

I had come across this issue... when I try to rearrange the position of widgets using Layout, it will show some error...

Here is how to arrange widgets directly using HTML code...

Find the Widget

We need to find the widgetId... if you edit a widget, there will something like this in the address bar "___widgetId=HTML10___", that is the widgetId for that widget...

Edit HTML

- Go to Edit HTML under Layout...
- Backup the current layout
- Uncheck "Expand Widget Templates"
- Go towards the end of the HTML source
- You will find something like this...

<b:widget id='HTML2' locked='false' title='Categories' type='HTML'/>

There will a list of these, each line corresponding to each widget...
- Just rearrange the lines for rearranging the widgets... the widgetId will help you to find each widget...

Try it... comments please...

ATOzTOA - Optimization Phaze 1 Complete...

2009-11-26T21:27:00.003+05:30

The blog went through a cycle of optimizations...

Problems with IE

When blog is loading, the banner will show up and it says "done". After sometime, all the other content appears... readers will think it is some error... they will just leave...

Also, the sidebar was taking 75% of the screen width and main content having only the rest :)

I saved the page locally and tried removing each widget in turn... the problem was with TechnoSNACK widget... removed it...

Other improvements

Removed some of the widgets... optimized some widgets (Lijit)... reorganized widget placement...

The blog must be faster... try it out... and please comment...

See also... » ATOzTOA got new Logo

» ATOzTOA is 1 year old...

gccgo - another Google Go compiler - Part 3

2009-11-26T07:31:00.010+05:30

This post is about how I am fixing things... for a HOWTO on gccgo, check gccgo mini-HOWTO

Continued... Part 1... Part 2...

Ian Lance Taylor from Google has released yet another patch... let's check it out... [Link: [gccgo] Don't use <linux/user.h>]

Index: libgo/mksysinfo.sh
===================================================================
--- libgo/mksysinfo.sh (revision 154234)
+++ libgo/mksysinfo.sh (working copy)
@@ -41,14 +41,10 @@ cat > sysinfo.c <<EOF
 #include <sys/time.h>
 #include <sys/wait.h>
 #include <sys/un.h>
+#include <sys/user.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
 EOF
 
-# FIXME: GNU/Linux specific.
-cat >>sysinfo.c <<EOF
-#include <linux/user.h>
-EOF
-
 ${CC} -D_GNU_SOURCE -ggo -S -o sysinfo.s sysinfo.c
 
 echo 'package syscall' > ${OUT}
@@ -196,7 +192,8 @@ regs=`grep '^#GO type _user_regs_struct 
 if test "$regs" != ""; then
   regs=`echo $regs | sed -e 's/type _user_regs_struct struct //'`
   regs=`echo $regs | sed -e 's/\([^a-zA-Z0-9_]*\)\([a-zA-Z0-9_]\)\([a-zA-Z0-9_]* [^;]*;\)/\1\U\2\E\3/g'`
-  regs=`echo $regs | sed -e 's/ __/ X__/'g`
+  # FIXME: x86 specific.
+  regs=`echo $regs | sed -e 's/X\([a-z]\)\([a-z]\) int32/ \U\1\E\2 uint16; X\1\2 uint16/g'`
   echo "type PtraceRegs struct $regs" >> ${OUT}
 fi

This is what Ian says...

Newer kernel versions don't provide <linux/user.h>. This patch changes the libgo build to not try to use it, but to use <sys/user.h>. I was using <linux/user.h> because it gives more useful values for cs, ds, etc., so this patch also changes the sed script to get those back.

So, we may not need the patch for regs_linux_386.go anymore... let me say about it in the earlier section so that people won't do that...

Also, let me remove that symbolic link to sys/user.h...

$ sudo rm /usr/include/linux/user.h

Let's put back the original files mksysinfo.sh and regs_linux_386.go...

$ cd ../gccgo
$ rm libgo/mksysinfo.sh
$ svn update libgo/mksysinfo.sh
$ rm libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go
$ svn update libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go
$ cd ../objdir

Wow... mksysinfo.sh from SVN is the latest version with patch... :)

Will try make directly... making... expecting another error anytime... nothing... make complete...

At last... it is a complete success...

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Libraries have been installed in:
   /usr/local/lib

If you ever happen to want to link against installed libraries
in a given directory, LIBDIR, you must either use libtool, and
specify the full pathname of the library, or use the `-LLIBDIR'
flag during linking and do at least one of the following:
   - add LIBDIR to the `LD_LIBRARY_PATH' environment variable
     during execution
   - add LIBDIR to the `LD_RUN_PATH' environment variable
     during linking
   - use the `-Wl,-rpath -Wl,LIBDIR' linker flag
   - have your system administrator add LIBDIR to `/etc/ld.so.conf'

See any operating system documentation about shared libraries for
more information, such as the ld(1) and ld.so(8) manual pages.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, let's test it...

$ gccgo hello.go
/usr/local/lib/gcc/i686-pc-linux-gnu/4.5.0/../../../libgo.so: undefined reference to `__sync_fetch_and_add_4'
/usr/local/lib/gcc/i686-pc-linux-gnu/4.5.0/../../../libgo.so: undefined reference to `__sync_bool_compare_and_swap_4'
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status

Will check that later... I am tired... anyways, installation is successful... :)

Update... this is the reply for the issue from Ian...

To get around this, when you run configure on a 32-bit x86, use the --with-arch option. For example, if you have a Pentium 4, use --with-arch=pentium4 when you run configure.

I have an AMD box, need to find out what to use for that... be right back...

I am trying make with --with-arch=i686... will wait...

It worked... now no error during compilation... but when I try to execute...

$ ./a.out
Illegal instruction

No idea what it means...

Ian tried out my a.out and it worked for him... I think the issue is with the --with-arch...

As Majkel J. Smyfsky pointed out, the man page for gcc lists the values to be used for each machine... -march is same as --with-arch... so, now I am gonna install again using --with-arch=athon-xp... c ya soon...

...still the same issue... I am lost... :(

According to Ian, the issue is with my processor (AMD Athlon 2400+ XP)... it does not support SSE2 instruction set, only SSE... the go shared library contains SSE2 instructions... that is why the illegal instruction exception is occurring...

I am waiting for Ian to do something :)

And Ian strikes again... :) He told he had fixed it...

Ian's message:

I think this issue is now fixed. gccgo no longer forces the use of SSE2 on 32-bit x86. Doing an svn update of the sources and forcing a complete rebuild of libgo should fix the problem.

Tonight, I am gonna do it again... keeping --with-arch=athlon-xp...

Configure completed...
Make completed...
Install completed...

And here goes...

$ gccgo hello.go 
$ ./a.out 
Hello, world; or Καλημέρα κόσμε; or こんにちは 世界

Yep, it is working... thanks to Ian... :)

I need to verify using arch as i686... maybe later... bye...

Check out the mini-HOWTO on gccgo... gccgo mini-HOWTO

P.S.: I am going to try to make a Debian package (.deb) for gccgo...

Update: Debian Package generation success - gccgo Debian Package

Reference: Setting up and using gccgo

Transparent Desktop Icon Labels in Windows XP

2009-11-26T06:45:00.005+05:30

Wanna make the text background for desktop icons transparent in Windows XP? Here is how...

Sometimes, the icon labels just change from transparent to solid, and we get frustrated... right... check these settings...

Setting 1

- Go to 'Control Panel -> System'...
- Select 'Advanced' tab...
- Under 'Performance', click on 'Settings'...
- Select 'Visual Effects' tab...
- Enable (Check) the option 'Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop'...
- If already enabled, then disable, apply, then enable again...

Setting 2

- Right click on the Desktop...
- Under 'Arrange Icons by' menu, disable (Un-check) 'Lock Web Items on Desktop'...
- If already disabled, enable, then disable again...

Setting 3

CAUTION!!! Modifying registry is always risky, backup before editing...

- Run 'regedit'...
- Go to the key '[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]'...
- Set the value of 'ForceActiveDesktopOn' to 0...
- If key does not exist, create one... [Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)]...
- Do the same for the key '[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ Explorer]'...

For modifying the registry, you can use the following .reg file... create a new file named something.reg and copy paste the following... there must be a blank line at the end of the file... double click the file to execute it...
...

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"ForceActiveDesktopOn"=dword:0

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"ForceActiveDesktopOn"=dword:0

...

That's all... :)

Chetan Bhagat - 2 States - The Story Of My Marriage (Ebook)

2009-11-25T23:06:00.004+05:30

2 States - The Story Of My Marriage is a 2009 novel written by Chetan Bhagat. It is an Indian love story about a couple coming from two different states of India, who faced the conservative parents and how they finally persuaded them to get themselves married. The novel is a fiction, but is said to be inspired from the real story of the author and his wife Anusha who are from Delhi and Tamil Nadu respectively.

Download Chetan Bhagat - 2 States - The Story Of My Marriage EBOOK here...

Thanks to the original uploader...

gccgo - another Google Go compiler - Part 2

2009-11-25T22:29:00.006+05:30

This post is about how I am fixing things... for a HOWTO on gccgo, check gccgo mini-HOWTO

Continued... Part 1...

As the post is growing bigger everyday, I am splitting it... :)

I am back... :)

The issue with import is that they can't find the library files... I tried adding them manually using -I.

$ gccgo hello.go -I ~/go/objdir/i686-pc-linux-gnu/libgo/fmt/
/usr/bin/ld: crtbegin.o: No such file: No such file or directory
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status

So, now they got fmt... I tried just compiling (no linking)...

$ gccgo -c hello.go -I ~/go/objdir/i686-pc-linux-gnu/libgo/fmt/

It worked... but linking gives same error...

$ gccgo -o hello hello.go -I ~/go/objdir/i686-pc-linux-gnu/libgo/fmt/
/usr/bin/ld: crtbegin.o: No such file: No such file or directory
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status

The file is inside objdir and also installed at location /usr/lib/gcc/i486-linux-gnu/4.4/... the problem is that location is for gcc 4.4.1, but new gccgo is using gcc version 4.5.0...

Maybe, the make install error is the culprit... let's fix that first...

Apply this patch to ./gcc/go/Make-lang.in... [Link: [gccgo] Add go.install-plugin target]

Index: Make-lang.in
===================================================================
--- Make-lang.in (revision 154084)
+++ Make-lang.in (working copy)
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ go.install-common: installdirs
  -$(INSTALL_PROGRAM) gccgo$(exeext) $(DESTDIR)$(bindir)/$(GCCGO_INSTALL_NAME)$(exeext)
  -chmod a+x $(DESTDIR)$(bindir)/$(GCCGO_INSTALL_NAME)$(exeext)
 
+go.install-plugin:
 go.install-man:
 
 go.uninstall:

Installing...

$ sudo make install

Another error...

/usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lgcc
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status
make[2]: *** [cc1-dummy] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir/gcc'
make[1]: *** [install-gcc] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir'
make: *** [install] Error 2

Will check it out...

I tried make again... showed another error...

checking for C compiler default output file name... 
configure: error: in `/more/go/objdir':
configure: error: C compiler cannot create executables
See `config.log' for more details.

Tried distclean and configure again... same error !!!

The problem was gcc version 4.5.0 was being used and it is not fully installed... I removed and reinstalled gcc 4.4.1...

$ sudo apt-get remove gcc
$ sudo rm /usr/local/bin/gcc
$ sudo apt-get -y install gcc

Have to close the shell and take another shell to have gcc back again...

configure working now... complete...

make... later... bye again...

I'm back again... :)

make complete... it took more that 5 hours (exact time I don't know)...

On to the next phase...

$ sudo make install

Got the same error...

make[2]: *** No rule to make target `go.install-plugin', needed by `lang.install-plugin'.  Stop.
make[2]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir/gcc'
make[1]: *** [install-gcc] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir'
make: *** [install] Error 2

Let me check the Make-lang.in file...

Oops... I had added go-install-plugin: instead of go.install-plugin: !!!

Tried make install again... libgcc gone... the cycle continues...

Let's put back gcc 4.4.1... now trying to install again...

$ sudo make install

Got another error...

/usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lstdc++
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status
make[2]: *** [go1] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir/gcc'
make[1]: *** [install-gcc] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir'
make: *** [install] Error 2

Let's put back g++ 4.4.1... trying... another error...

cc1: warnings being treated as errors
../../gccgo/gcc/gcc.c: In function ‘execute’:
../../gccgo/gcc/gcc.c:3109: error: format not a string literal and no format arguments
make[2]: *** [gcc.o] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir/gcc'
make[1]: *** [install-gcc] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir'
make: *** [install] Error 2

To be continued... Part 3...

Check out the mini-HOWTO on gccgo... gccgo mini-HOWTO

Reference: Setting up and using gccgo

gccgo mini-HOWTO

2009-11-19T19:56:00.016+05:30

mini-HOWTO for using gccgo, the Google Go compiler...

Prerequisites

Space requirements: ~3GB

$ sudo apt-get -y install binutils coreutils libacl1 libattr1 libc6 libc6-dev libc6-i686 libgmp3c2 libgmp3-dev libmpfr1ldbl libmpfr-dev libncurses5 libselinux1 linux-libc-dev locales mime-support zlib1g flex texinfo

Getting source

Method 1: Checkout from svn

$ mkdir gccgo-4.5.0
$ sudo apt-get -y install subversion
$ svn checkout svn://gcc.gnu.org/svn/gcc/branches/gccgo gccgo-4.5.0

Method 2: Extract from archive

Download the source archive... gccgo-4.5.0.tar.gz (80MB) or from sourceforge... svn revision: 154648...

$ tar xvzf gccgo-4.5.0.tar.gz

Configuring gccgo

$ cd gccgo-4.5.0
$ ./configure --enable-languages=c,c++,go --with-arch=i686

...replace with your architecture in place of i686... if Pentium 4, then use pentium4... to find out which one to use, try i386 and x86-64 Options - Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)...

Building gccgo

$ make

Installing gccgo

$ sudo make install

Using gccgo

$ gccgo xyz.go
$ ./a.out

Comments please...

gccgo - another Google Go compiler - Part 1

2009-11-15T03:05:00.047+05:30

This post is about how I am fixing things... for a HOWTO on gccgo, check gccgo mini-HOWTO

As I told during Google Go - A First Look, I am gonna try to build and install gccgo in Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala... it is a compiler for Google Go... a frontend for gcc...

$ mkdir gccgo
$ sudo apt-get -y install subversion
$ svn checkout svn://gcc.gnu.org/svn/gcc/branches/gccgo gccgo

The total source size is 1.3 GB !!!

I have uploaded the tar.gz file... download from here... gccgo-4.5.0.tar.gz or from sourceforge... it is only 80 MB :)

Build process commencing...

$ mkdir objdir
$ cd objdir
$ ../gccgo/configure --enable-languages=c,c++,go

It showed error...

configure: error: Building GCC requires GMP 4.2+ and MPFR 2.3.2+.
Try the --with-gmp and/or --with-mpfr options to specify their locations.
Copies of these libraries' source code can be found at their respective hosting sites as well as at ftp://gcc.gnu.org/pub/gcc/infrastructure/.
See also http://gcc.gnu.org/install/prerequisites.html for additional info.
If you obtained GMP and/or MPFR from a vendor distribution package, make sure that you have installed both the libraries and the header files.
They may be located in separate packages.

I searched for the libraries and found this thread [Arbitrary precision in C with GMP and MPFR]...

$ sudo apt-get install libgmp3-dev
$ sudo apt-get install libmpfr-dev

After that configure was success...

$ make

Started checking for lots of things... started making... issued a warning...

WARNING: `flex' is missing on your system. You should only need it if you modified a `.l' file. You may need the `Flex' package in order for those modifications to take effect. You can get `Flex' from any GNU archive site.

After that... boom...

gcc: gengtype-lex.c: No such file or directory
gcc: no input files
make[3]: *** [build/gengtype-lex.o] Error 1
make[3]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir/gcc'
make[2]: *** [all-stage1-gcc] Error 2
make[2]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir'
make[1]: *** [stage1-bubble] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir'
make: *** [all] Error 2

Installed flex...

$ sudo apt-get -y install flex

Tried make again... same error... ran configure again...

$ ../gccgo/configure --enable-languages=c,c++,go
$ make

Went to sleep, 3 and half hours... woke up... make still going... 2 more hours... and still going... 2 more hours... and it happened...

Comparing stages 2 and 3
warning: gcc/cc1plus-checksum.o differs
warning: gcc/cc1-checksum.o differs
Bootstrap comparison failure!
gcc/go/unsafe.o differs
gcc/go/gogo-tree.o differs
gcc/go/import.o differs
gcc/go/statements.o differs
gcc/go/types.o differs
gcc/go/lex.o differs
gcc/go/refcount.o differs
gcc/go/export.o differs
gcc/go/gogo.o differs
gcc/go/parse.o differs
gcc/go/go.o differs
gcc/go/import-elf.o differs
gcc/go/expressions.o differs
gcc/go/import-archive.o differs
gcc/go/dataflow.o differs
make[2]: *** [compare] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir'
make[1]: *** [stage3-bubble] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir'
make: *** [all] Error 2

I searched for the error and found this page [GCC Build error Bootstrap comparison failure!], it said make distclean and configure again will fix the issue... that is a total of seven and half hours wasted...

But, I tried distclean...

$ make distclean
$ ../gccgo/configure --enable-languages=c,c++,go
$ make

then another error...

sysinfo.c:18:24: fatal error: linux/user.h: No such file or directory
compilation terminated.
make[3]: *** [sysinfo.go] Error 1
make[3]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir/i686-pc-linux-gnu/libgo'
make[2]: *** [all] Error 2
make[2]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir/i686-pc-linux-gnu/libgo'
make[1]: *** [all-target-libgo] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir'
make: *** [all] Error 2

I tried configuring again from start... no use... searched for some solutions and came across this Korean page... [webnautes.tistory.com/]... Google translated it for me... it says about the issue and points to this Portuguese site... [http://www.fernando.scherrer.nom.br/?p=28]... again Google translate...

This was the solution given...

$ cd /usr/include/linux
$ sudo ln -s ../sys/user.h

... that will make a symbolic link to user.h inside linux directory.

Let's try it out... that error was gone... waiting for the next one...

../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:83:16: error: reference to undefined field or method ‘Cs’
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:85:16: error: reference to undefined field or method ‘Ss’
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:87:16: error: reference to undefined field or method ‘Ds’
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:89:16: error: reference to undefined field or method ‘Es’
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:91:16: error: reference to undefined field or method ‘Fs’
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:93:16: error: reference to undefined field or method ‘Gs’
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:121:4: error: reference to undefined field or method ‘Cs’
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:123:4: error: reference to undefined field or method ‘Ss’
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:125:4: error: reference to undefined field or method ‘Ds’
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:127:4: error: reference to undefined field or method ‘Es’
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:129:4: error: reference to undefined field or method ‘Fs’
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:131:4: error: reference to undefined field or method ‘Gs’
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:121:8: error: invalid left hand side of assignment
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:123:8: error: invalid left hand side of assignment
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:125:8: error: invalid left hand side of assignment
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:127:8: error: invalid left hand side of assignment
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:129:8: error: invalid left hand side of assignment
../../../gccgo/libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go:131:8: error: invalid left hand side of assignment
make[3]: *** [debug/libproc.a] Error 1
make[3]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir/i686-pc-linux-gnu/libgo'
make[2]: *** [all] Error 2
make[2]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir/i686-pc-linux-gnu/libgo'
make[1]: *** [all-target-libgo] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir'
make: *** [all] Error 2

Same error as the Korean guy... and he refers this page... [problem building gccgo on Fedora 10]...

There is a patch available there... will try... I don't know how to apply the patch... will check...

ALERT!!! There is a newer patch available, this patch is NO LONGER needed!!!

svn diff 
Index: libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go
===================================================================
--- libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go    (revision 154104)
+++ libgo/go/debug/proc/regs_linux_386.go    (working copy)
@@ -26,12 +26,12 @@
 "esp",
 "eip",
 "eflags",
- "cs",
- "ss",
- "ds",
- "es",
- "fs",
- "gs",
+ "xcs",
+ "xss",
+ "xds",
+ "xes",
+ "xfs",
+ "xgs",
 }

 func (r *_386Regs) PC() Word   { return Word(r.Eip) }
@@ -80,17 +80,17 @@
 case 9:
  return Word(uint32(r.Eflags))
 case 10:
-  return Word(r.Cs)
+  return Word(r.Xcs)
 case 11:
-  return Word(r.Ss)
+  return Word(r.Xss)
 case 12:
-  return Word(r.Ds)
+  return Word(r.Xds)
 case 13:
-  return Word(r.Es)
+  return Word(r.Xes)
 case 14:
-  return Word(r.Fs)
+  return Word(r.Xfs)
 case 15:
-  return Word(r.Gs)
+  return Word(r.Xgs)
 }
 panic("invalid register index ", strconv.Itoa(i));
 }
@@ -118,17 +118,17 @@
 case 9:
  r.Eflags = int32(val)
 case 10:
-  r.Cs = uint16(val)
+  r.Xcs = int32(val)
 case 11:
-  r.Ss = uint16(val)
+  r.Xss = int32(val)
 case 12:
-  r.Ds = uint16(val)
+  r.Xds = int32(val)
 case 13:
-  r.Es = uint16(val)
+  r.Xes = int32(val)
 case 14:
-  r.Fs = uint16(val)
+  r.Xfs = int32(val)
 case 15:
-  r.Gs = uint16(val)
+  r.Xgs = int32(val)
 default:
  panic("invalid register index ", strconv.Itoa(i))
 }
Index: libgo/mksysinfo.sh
===================================================================
--- libgo/mksysinfo.sh  (revision 154104)
+++ libgo/mksysinfo.sh  (working copy)
@@ -45,11 +45,13 @@
 EOF

 # FIXME: GNU/Linux specific.
+#include <sys/user.h>
+#include <linux/user.h>
 cat >>sysinfo.c <<EOF
-#include <linux/user.h>
+#include <sys/user.h>
 EOF

-${CC} -D_GNU_SOURCE -ggo -S -o sysinfo.s sysinfo.c
+${CC} ${CFLAGS} -D_GNU_SOURCE -ggo -S -o sysinfo.s sysinfo.c

 echo 'package syscall' > ${OUT}

For applying the patch...

$ cd ../gccgo
$ patch -p0 -i ~/gccgo.diff

I need to install patch :)

$ sudo apt-get -y install patch

Tried patch, but only mksysinfo.sh got patched, regs_linux_386.go showed error... I tried changing tabs and spaces but only one change worked... so I will fix it manually...

Trying again...

$ cd ../objdir
$ make

It is working... I am getting late for work... will do the rest of the making after I return... I stayed to post this thread and make is complete... voila... :)

$ sudo make install

Installed successfully... but...

make[2]: *** No rule to make target `go.install-plugin', needed by `lang.install-plugin'.  Stop.
make[2]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir/gcc'
make[1]: *** [install-gcc] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/more/go/objdir'
make: *** [install] Error 2

don't know what it means...

Let's try using gccgo...

$ gccgo hello.go
hello.go:3:8: error: import file ‘fmt’ not found
hello.go:6:1: error: reference to undefined name ‘fmt’

So, something is still not working... will check later... bye 4 now...

To be continued... Part 2... Part 3...

Check out the mini-HOWTO on gccgo... gccgo mini-HOWTO

DYK? MOTU stands for Masters Of The Universe, it is a team at Ubuntu... ;)

Reference: Setting up and using gccgo

2012

2009-11-14T19:37:00.004+05:30

Went for "2012" today...

Oh man... you should watch it... but...

IGN rating is bad (1 of 5 stars)... IMDB have 6.7 out of 10... rottentomatoes says it is 37% fresh (rotten)... so be it...

I feel like it is a 2 and a half hours well spent... cutting edge special effects... action packed scenes... I loved it...

You can always relate this to "The Day After Tomorrow"... as the director is same...

Estimated production cost is around $200 million !!!

Verdict: Good

See also... » eagle eye

» Transporter 3

» Iron Man

Emperor of the Sea

2009-11-13T20:06:00.005+05:30

Started watching the series "Emperor of the Sea". It is a South Korean epic drama, original title is "Hae-sin". There is total 51 episodes...

Synopsis

Based on the life of a true historical figure, Emperor of the Sea is an epic Korean Drama based on a novel by author Choi In Ho. Choi Soo Jong stars as Jang Bogo, who rises from a lowly slave to the military commander of the sea during the Unified Silla Dynasty (676~935). Along the way, he battles pirates, and engages in a heated rivalry with Madam Jami, a Shilla noble who squares off against Jang Bo Go for trade rights in the South Sea. Song Il Gook, winner of the 2002 KBS New Actor award, is Yeomjang, Jang Bo Go's charismatic comrade, who supports Jang in his ascension to The Emperor of the Sea. But Yeomjang competes with Jang for the love of Jeong-hwa.

It is a really nice series... like "Jewel In The Palace"...

I have been looking for the torrent for a long time... finally found one... go to bt.avistaz.com and search for the series (you will have to register free)...

Update: The server at avistaz is up and running now...

Google Go - A First Look

2009-11-12T20:56:00.012+05:30

Like lot of new things, Google has launched their new programming language... "Go"...

Nice name, ha! Whether it will go a long way or a short one... only time will tell...

So, I thought I will give it a try... in Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala...

1. Installing Go in Ubuntu

Adding Environment variables...

$ echo 'export GOROOT=$HOME/go' >> ~/.bashrc
$ echo 'export GOOS=linux' >> ~/.bashrc
$ echo 'export GOARCH=386' >> ~/.bashrc
$ echo 'export GOBIN=$GOROOT/bin' >> ~/.bashrc
$ echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$GOBIN' >> ~/.bashrc
$ . ~/.bashrc

Installing...

$ sudo apt-get -y install mercurial
$ hg clone -r release https://go.googlecode.com/hg/ $GOROOT
$ sudo apt-get -y install bison gcc libc6-dev ed
$ cd $GOROOT/src
$ mkdir $GOBIN
$ ./all.bash

Total download around 10 MB... After around 12 minutes, the install will finish and 'Go' will be up and running... You can put all the above steps into a shell script and run it... :) Wow... it have inbuilt crypto libraries too...

2. Programming in Go

Source file : *.go
Compiler : 8g (for 386)
Compiled file : *.8 (for 386)
Linker : 8l (for 386)
Output : 8.out

Hello World!!!

$ cat >hello.go <<EOF
package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
 fmt.Printf("hello, world\n")
}
EOF

$ 8l hello.8
$ ./8.out 
hello, world

That was easy... :) Phew !!!

OR

We can use gccgo, gccgo is slower but more efficient... installing gccgo...

$ mkdir gccgo
$ sudo apt-get -y install subversion
$ svn checkout svn://gcc.gnu.org/svn/gcc/branches/gccgo gccgo

It is actually taking too much time... I will come to that later...

Did you know there is a gcc test suite called "gcc-torture" ? :)

Update: I actually installed gccgo... gccgo is up and running...

3. Let's review...

Examples in [brackets]...

- package from Java [package main]
- import from Java/Python [import fmt "fmt"]
- Comments same as C++
- No terminator
- C style func [func main()]
- C style braces ({})
- There are typed and untyped variables/constants [var s string = "";]
- var for declarations
- Grouping of same datatype declarations, separated by semicolon (;)

Just this much for now...

The verdict... nothing for now... but I am gonna learn the language... :)

Reference: Installing Go

User login problem in Linux

2009-11-12T20:48:00.003+05:30

Sometimes, when you try to login to linux, it will login and immediately logout... and show this message...

Your session only lasted less than 30 seconds. If you not have logged out yourself, this could mean that there is some installation problems or that you may be out of diskspace. Try logging in with one of the failsafe sessions to see if you can fix this problem.

Just click on "More details". It will most probably tell about issue with some file starting with . (dot). Normally it will be .ICEauthority.

To fix this issue, just login as root and rename this file (or delete it if you want). It will be in the home folder of the user.

Booting Ubuntu 9.10 - Part 2 (The Koala Reborn)

2009-11-08T09:33:00.015+05:30

ALERT!!! This is not a guide... read fully before applying any of these.. or check guide at the end...

Continued... Part 1 (The Downfall)

Recap

Installed Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala fresh. Setup is fast. Setup installed GRUB2, not supported by my machine. System not booting. Tried installing LILO again using Ubuntu 8.04 Live CD. Got Windows bootloader running.

So, that was the story of the downfall...

Following is my HDD configuration...

- /dev/sda1 - fat32 - Windows XP
- /dev/sda5 - ext3 - /boot
- /dev/sda6 - fat32 - Another Windows XP ;)
- /dev/sdb11 - ext4 - /
- /dev/sdb12 - ext4 - /home

I searched all over the net for a solution. One thing that really helped me was pppoeconf. I am having broadband on DSL, so just execute pppoeconf, give username and password, and you have internet. So, I will boot using Live CD and first thing I do is setup the net (it will be gone once I reboot).

Found lots of versions of lilo.conf in the net. Tried all. It was writing to MBR, but was not getting updated. Sometimes it does get updated, then it shows some error during bootup ('No partion active').

I think the issue was this... LILO needs the bootloader to be in the first 10 GB of the HDD. I had the root partition (/) in another HDD. I had already installed LILO for 8.04. I think from 8.10, the size of the kernel may have got bigger and LILO needs all that withing 15MB, or it won't boot. LILO can't find the /boot and / was in another HDD.

So, I installed Ubuntu 8.10 (I don't have 8.04 CD). First time, the setup didn't even finish, just exited (I wonder why?). I ran setup again and it installed old grub. On next boot, got Error 18 again.

Found one alternative to restore Windows bootloader. Just run Partition Magic and "set active" the Windows partition. The MBR will then start loading that partition on boot. I had a bootable CD with Partition Magic. I even tried setting the /boot partition as active. Then there was no bootloader altogether.

Then I came across this article on converting GRUB to LILO. It was done from Live CD. Tried it lots of times, but didn't get hold of how it works. Then I understood, the method was used to get the lilo.conf according to the system config. We need /proc and /dev to run liloconfig.

Also, the entries in /etc/fstab must not map to UUIDs, need good old /dev/sda mappings. The article was for system with NO seperate /boot partition. I modified for /boot as separate. Here is the code...

sudo mkdir /mnt/ubuntu
sudo mount /dev/sdb11 /mnt/ubuntu/       # /dev/sdb11 is where / is
sudo mount -t proc none /mnt/ubuntu/proc
sudo mount -o bind /dev/ /mnt/ubuntu/dev
sudo mount /dev/sda5 /mnt/ubuntu/boot    # /dev/sda5 is where /boot is
sudo chroot /mnt/ubuntu /bin/bash        # makes /mnt/ubuntu as the root

What it does is, it mounts the / and /boot partition and creates the lilo.conf from the partitions. I know it is generating the lilo.conf right, but machine didn't boot. ...reference link...

I was stuck. No solutions left... :(

Then I read somewhere about NTLDR booting GRUB. I didn't like the idea, but thought will give it a try. Found out a good article. The steps in short...
- Windows is booting fine
- Install Ubuntu
- Boot using Live CD
- Generate lilo.conf
- Modify lilo.conf to write the bootloader to the ext3 partition instead of the MBR
- Install LILO
- Copy the first 512 bytes of the ext3 partition (the boot sector) to a file (eg. ubuntu.lnx)
- Mount the Windows partition, copy ubuntu.lnx to Windows partition
- Reboot into Windows
- Copy the ubuntu.lnx file to C:
- Add an entry into BOOT.INI
- Reboot, there will be an item for Ubuntu. ...reference link...

I tried it and voila, got Ubuntu booted. :)

The lilo.conf file... you can keep this for your use... it has only bare minimum options...

# The location to install LILO (/dev/sda to install to MBR)
boot=/dev/sda5

# Map generated by LILO
map=/boot/map

# Don't know, doesn't matter
install=/boot/boot.b

# Whether to prompt during bootup
prompt

# Bootup menu timeout (in deciseconds, 50 = 5 seconds)
timeout=50

# Mode
lba32

# Default OS to boot
default=Ubuntu

# Image for Ubuntu
# Modify to match the name of vmlinuz and initrd in /boot
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic
  label=Ubuntu
  initrd=/boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
  read-only
  # The partition for root (/)
  root=/dev/sdb11

# Option for Windows
# The partition where Windows is installed
other=/dev/sda1
  label=Windows

The thing was, when the machine boots up, Windows boot menu comes with Windows and Ubuntu, when u select Ubuntu, LILO menu comes with Ubuntu and Windows again :)

But story don't end here...

I wondered whether GRUB will also work this way. I booted again using Live CD, installed GRUB to /boot (/dev/sda5). Created the file and added one more entry to BOOT.INI. Tried, but GRUB shows Error 18.

I stopped and was going for lunch. Then it just came to me. If LILO is in /etc/sda5 and if I set that partition as active, won't it boot??? I came back after lunch and activated the ext3 partition using Partition Magic. It was in the extended partition, I converted that to primary. On reboot, it showed the Error 18 from GRUB. So, it is booting from ext3 directly.

I went back using Ubuntu 8.10 Live CD, against installed LILO to /boot. One thing I forgot to mention is, the /boot partition must be ext3, LILO don't support ext4. Rebooted and LILO was in control... that was great :)

Now I have Ubuntu 8.10 booting with LILO. Now I need to install 9.10 Karmic. I started setup from Ubuntu 9.10 CD. During partitioning option, kept /boot intact, formatted / as ext4. Didn't install bootloader. I knew the chances are lean, but just tried.

Rebooted, started booting and stopped into initramfs prompt. The version of initrd and vmlinuz are 2.6.27-7 for the bootloader but 2.6.31-14 in /boot. So, it won't boot.

Booted again using Ubuntu 9.10 Live CD, coz the 8.10 CD can't use ext4. There was no lilo. So, I installed lilo. Then I executed the code to mount / and /boot and chroot. Now, I need to run lilo. When you do chroot, you can't execute commands from the Live CD. But, there is no lilo bundled with the installation. I tried apt-get, lilo is not listed anywhere in the apt sources. I had the APTonCD package backup image in my Windows partition. I tried using .deb file, it said it needs mbr. And mbr was not in the APTonCD disk.

So, no lilo. Then I thought, why do I need to chroot. It is needed to generate lilo.conf. But I already have the lilo.conf, so no need. I modified lilo.conf to install to /dev/sda5. Executed sudo lilo -v. It showed some error and failed. I checked /boot and it was having Windows files. What happened was, when I converted the ext3 partition to primary, it became /dev/sda3 and the second Windows partition became /dev/sda5.

I modified lilo.conf to install to /dev/sda3. Executed sudo lilo -v. Success.

Rebooted, LILO came up and started booting. But stopped in the middle, saying waiting for the /boot, / and /home partitions. The problem was, those were mapped in /etc/fstab using UUIDs. So I went back into the Live CD, modified /etc/fstab (for the installation, not that of Live CD) and came back. Rebooted and Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala was up and running... :)

Now I needed to install all the packages I had backed up using APTonCD. There was a problem with the disk. APTonCD generated an ISO image with my packages. It was only 1.5GB. So, I edited the ISO image and added backup of my home folder also. But, now APTonCD can't restore the packages from the APTonCD disk, because of additional directories. (Actually it can restore, the thing was, the home backup has root permissions, APTonCD couldn't access them, it showed error and I just dropped the idea. I thought about it later and ran APTonCD as root, and it worked.)

So, I had lots of .deb files in the APTonCD disk. What I did was I executed sudo dpkg -i *.deb. It started working and after sometime told me, can't install due to too much errors. I said OK, I will deal with you later. But, when I rebooted, X won't come up, stays at the shell login prompt.

So, I had to install again. This time, I didn't change anything, just left the bootloader and /boot as such. Moral: always use synaptic for managing debian packages.

- End of Story - Total Time Spent : 15+ hours -

And now on to the most hilarious part... !!!

While I was writing this, I was confused whether it is liloconf or liloconfig. I tried out, but lilo was not installed. When I installed it, look what I got...

WARNING: You have a large kernel+initrd and large-memory is not set in lilo.conf.
WARNING: Do NOT reboot or LILO may fail to boot.
WARNING: Please read /usr/share/doc/lilo/README.Debian

Got it? The size of initrd + vmlinuz was above 8 MB... that was the reason the bootloader written to MBR couldn't find LILO. I checked README.Debian and here is what I got...

If this machine has a recent BIOS without the 15MB limitation, you can
add the 'large-memory' option to /etc/lilo.conf to instruct LILO to use
more memory for passing the initrd to the kernel.

The limitation is for BIOS older than 2001. So, I added the line and installed to MBR, now it is booting from MBR. One line, one single line was worth hours? :)

Prologue / Guide (only for LILO)

- Install Ubuntu
- Use seperate partition for /boot
- Keep the filesystem for /boot as ext3
- DONT install bootloader
- Boot using Live CD
- Configure internet
- Mount / somewhere

sudo mount /dev/sdb11 /mnt/somewhere

- Edit fstab and remove the UUID mappings

 sudo vi /mnt/somewhere/etc/fstab

- Install lilo

 sudo apt-get lilo

- Copy the above given lilo.conf file to /etc
- Mount the boot partition (/boot) to /boot

 sudo mount /dev/sda5 /boot

- Modify /etc/lilo.conf
- Add 'large-memory' option to /etc/lilo.conf
- Execute lilo

 sudo lilo -v

- Enjoy :)

Karmic Koala ... how is it?

Yeah it is better... takes less RAM and Swap... boots faster... file access is faster... I love it :)

Thanks for spending time with me... I hope this was useful... I learned a lot... any doubt, just ask...

Booting Ubuntu 9.10 - Part 1 (The Downfall)

2009-11-07T19:23:00.004+05:30

ALERT!!! This is not a guide... read fully before applying any of these.. or check guide at the end...

Installed Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala, fresh.

I already had Ubuntu 9.10, but it was upgraded from the previous versions. The original installation was 8.04. I have been updating online since. Boot loader was LILO as my machine does not support GRUB (Shows 'Error 18').

The general opinion was I need to install Karmic fresh to get all the features. I had converted my /home partition to ext4. I read somewhere to keep the /boot partition as ext3 itself. So, I thought I will install fresh.

Backed up /home. Downloaded the ISO. Burned it.

Started the setup...

The interface was much cooler. The world map for selecting time zone was good. But the time was automatically set to a wrong value.

Partitioner took around 10 minutes to come up, but have a good interface. I selected manual partitioning.
Set these options...
-Format / as ext4
-Format /boot as ext3
-No change for /home
-No change for swap

There was an option to import files and settings from the existing Windows partitions, cool :)

Then it showed the details of what is gonna be done. I didn't bother switching off 'Install bootloader'. I clicked next, it started working... then only I realized by foolishness. The default bootloader is GRUB, and my machine won't support that !!!

Setup completed in like 15 more mins. Total time around 35 mins.

On next boot, GRUB2 came up with the prompt "grub rescue>". Gone :(

I booted from Karmic live CD. Tried to install LILO, then I found that there was no lilo command, lilo is removed from Karmic (maybe earlier versions itself). Oops.. There was nothing I could do...

So, I booted from Hardy (8.04) live CD. It have LILO. I tried installing, it said lilo.conf not found. I needed a sample lilo.conf.

I called up a friend (thanks Vinu), it was 11 in the night, and asked him to search for some solutions. He searched and recited one sample lilo.conf. I tried running lilo -b /dev/sda. It showed some error ("Trying to map a drive..."). I removed all the lines from lilo.conf except those for linux (image, root ...), and added the UUID also, no use. Vinu searched for other solutions and told I need to give command lilo -M /dev/sda -b /dev/sda. LILO got installed.

I rebooted and directly Windows came up. I think the command reset the MBR and the system just booted from the first primary partition (Windows). Atleast, now I have Windows and can use net and search for more solutions.

If everything fails, I can just install 8.04 with LILO. Then install Karmic without changing bootloader. Maybe...

To be continued... Part 2 (The Koala Reborn)

NOT this end... the other end...

Editing ISO Image in Ubuntu

2009-11-04T13:05:00.007+05:30

Ever need to edit an ISO Image file in Ubuntu?

Try ISO Master. It is old, but cool :)

Install...

sudo apt-get -y install isomaster

OR

Download from here...

OR

Get .deb file from here...

NOTICE: One thing I noticed is, the ISO saving is far too slow... maybe it is because I am doing directly to a FAT32 partition.

Firefox Search Bar NOT Working!!!

2009-10-30T21:34:00.011+05:30

I upgraded to Karmic Koala and the Firefox Search Bar stopped functioning.

The Search Bar is the small area on the right of the Address bar.

If I give a keyword and press ENTER or click the 'Magnifying glass' icon, nothing happens.

Here is the fix:

1. Shut down firefox
2. Go to mozilla profile folder ( $HOME/.mozilla/firefox/<something> )
3. Rename formhistory.sqlite to something else

mv formhistory.sqlite formhistory.sqlite.bak

That's all :)

CAUTION: This file contains information about data you enter into web forms. These information will be lost!!!

Source: bugs.launchpad.net

Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala on the move

2009-10-29T20:49:00.002+05:30

The latest addition in the Ubuntu linux is here...

Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) is out...

Download here...

I upgraded from Jaunty to Karmic... didn't find much of a difference.

- Boot time seems more...
- New screen during bootup...
- Sound system have some issues...

File Compare in Ubuntu

2009-10-12T20:25:00.003+05:30

Dear Blog (coz I think it seems kinda funny),

It has been like 1 month since my last post...

Here is a cool tool for comparing text files in Linux... Meld... like Beyond Compare in Windows...

Here is how to install Meld in Ubuntu...

apt-get install meld

It will be installed as Applications->Programming->Meld Diff Viewer.

The Lost Symbol - A Journey

2009-09-17T09:14:00.003+05:30

I have started reading the book, 'The Lost Symbol' by Dan Brown. I have only covered a small portion, but thought I will go on writing about what I perceive...

WARNING: Maybe spoilers...

There are references to various currently existing fields of science. But one thing that striked me was the inclusion of the ancient Eastern scientific studies... the knowledge which we Indians always had from the very old times... there are references to the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita etc... Dan Brown is trying to link the ancient science with the most modern... and telling about the oneness of us all, the interconnection between each and everything... which I have already heard in the Holigrative Psychology paradigm.

The journey will continue...

The ending was a bit too lengthy... honestly it was boring... and the end was also not satisfactorily done...

Anyways, nice book... good read... :)

[Recommended]

See also... » Dan Brown - The Lost Symbol (Ebook)

Dan Brown - The Lost Symbol (Ebook)

2009-09-16T09:22:00.004+05:30

The Lost Symbol, formerly known under by working title The Solomon Key, is a novel by American writer Dan Brown. The Lost Symbol is the third book to involve the character of Harvard University symbologist Robert Langdon, after 2000's Angels & Demons and 2003's The Da Vinci Code.

Download Dan Brown - The Lost Symbol EBOOK here...

ATOzTOA - Table Of Contents

2009-09-02T22:08:00.004+05:30

Added Table Of Contents to the blog...

Actually Amanda at Blogger Buster mentioned about the script by Abu Farhan in her post titled How to Create a Sitemap with Google Feed Control. Abu had done a wonderful job, thanks to him...

Install Firefox 3.5.1 Official Release in Ubuntu

2009-08-01T12:57:00.007+05:30

As I have detailed in the post Firefox 3.5.1 in Ubuntu, I had installed the latest version. Only after that I found out that Firefox-3.5.1 have been officially released as Firefox-3.5.1 and Shiretoko was the codename.

So I installed Firefox-3.5.1 directly from their website. Here is how...

1. Download

Download firefox 3.5 setup from downlod.mozilla.com.
Archive filename: firefox-3.5.1.tar.bz2.
Save archive to /tmp.

2. Extract and Test

Extract the archive

cd /tmp; tar xvjf firefox-3.5.1.tar.bz2
The files will be extracted to directory named firefox.

Test Firefox

cd firefox
./firefox

Firefox will start...

3. Installing

Now install this version as the main firefox installation.

cd /usr/lib
sudo mv /tmp/firefox firefox-3.5
cd ../bin
ln -s -f ../lib/firefox-3.5 firefox-3.5
ln -s -f firefox-3.5 firefox

That will do the trick...

Another method is to use Ubuntuzilla. Check this thread...

Firefox 3.5.1 in Ubuntu

2009-07-18T14:00:00.005+05:30

Update: If you need to install the latest official version named as Firefox-3.5 rather than the codenamed version, check this thread: Install Firefox-3.5.1 Official Release in Ubuntu

Actually, I was using Firefox 3 till now. Then I read this post on DailyGyan... I thought, well lets give it a try... then only I realized that mine was 3.0 point blah blah.

So, I installed the latest version of Firefox 3.5 (code named Shiretoko), ie., version number 3.5.1. I ran firefox, but that was the previous version, the binary was named firefox-3.5. I ran it, it automatically transferred all my settings, addons, history... to the new profile.

Some changes I noticed...
* The binary file is named forefox-3.5.
* The icon has changed
+ It is much much faster than FF3.
- Most of my addons broke...

So... lets install latest Firefox 3.5.1

Add the following code to a new file (eg: firefox.sh).

#!/bin/bash

version=jaunty # Change this to the Ubuntu version (eg: intrepid)

sudo bash -c "echo '# Firefox' >> /etc/apt/sources.list"
sudo bash -c "echo 'deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mozilla-daily/ppa/ubuntu $version main' >> /etc/apt/sources.list"
sudo bash -c "echo 'deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mozilla-daily/ppa/ubuntu $version main' >> /etc/apt/sources.list"
sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 247510BE
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y install firefox-3.5

Just run the script,
sh firefox.sh

That's all... Run using command firefox-3.5.

Lucky Number Slevin

2009-07-18T13:18:00.004+05:30

Watched 'Lucky Number Slevin' now.

Wow, it is a hell of a movie... great one at that... :) kudos...

The thing is, coz of my experience with eng movies, i could somewhat predict the plot... :)

Anyways, it is a must watch movie...