| Latest news from the uClibc project |
Jan. 27, 2003
Here are two important announcements from the uClibc project . . .
uClibc 0.9.17 is released
CodePoet Consulting is pleased to announce the immediate availability of uClibc 0.9.17. The biggest piece of news with this release, thanks to Manuel Novoa's continuing hard work, is that we now have fully standards compliant locale support (optional of course). The support works nicely, (though configuring the locales you wish to support is still manual -- a task for the next release). Full locale data for over 300 locales adds approximately 250k. The collation data for all supported locales is roughly 180k. This may seem rather large to some -- but it is much smaller than the approximately 40 MB needed by Glibc to provide the same data. And if you don't need it, you can either disable locale support entirely, or enable a smaller set of locales.
This release also fixes lots and lots of bugs. The arm architecture support (I am embarrassed to note) was totally broken in the last release, but is now working as expected. A security problem (a buffer overflow in getlogin_r) was fixed. And there were architecture updates across the board (x86, arm, powerpc, cris, h8300, sparc, and mips). And of course, this release includes the usual pile of bug fixes. Many thanks for the large number of patches and fixes that were contributed!
Unfortunately, this release is not binary compatible with earlier uClibc releases. As has been previously noted, uClibc does not (yet) attempt to ensure binary compatibility across releases. We will eventually do that (once we reach the "1.0" release) but not yet. A few bugs turned up that needed to be fixed, and the only good way to fix them was to change some fundamental data structure sizes. As a result, this release is _NOT_ binary compatible with earlier releases -- you will need to recompile your applications. The x86, arm, powerpc, and mips architectures (i.e. the systems Erik has available in his office for testing) have been tested and are known to work following this change. Other architectures may need additional updates. Sorry about that, but it had to be done.
The uClibc 0.9.17 release can be downloaded here. The Changelog for this release is located here.
uClibc development systems updated, arm image added
CodePoet Consulting is pleased to make available full stand-alone uClibc based development systems for x86, powerpc, and arm. These ext2 filesystems contain all the development software you need to get started building your own applications linked against uClibc. By using a uClibc only system, you can avoid the painful cross-configuration problems that have made using uClibc somewhat painful in the past.
If you want to begin compiling and testing things using uClibc, but you don't feel like spending the hours it takes to download, configure, and build binutils, gcc, g++, make, gdb, strace, etc, then you may want to download these development systems and give them a try. I have tested each one (x86, powerpc, and arm) and verified that the included gcc and g++ compilers produce fully working uClibc linked executables.
Everything contained in these development system images is dynamically linked with uClibc 0.9.17, and was compiled using buildroot. If you wish to build your own system, just grab buildroot and run 'make'.
The uClibc/gcc toolchain builders were also updated, so if you want to build your own uClibc/gcc toolchain, but you don't want to use buildroot, grab the toolchain builders and give them a try.
The uClibc based development systems can be downloaded here . . . Buildroot snapshots can be obtained here. Toolchain builder snapshots can be obtained here.
About uClibc
uClibc (aka µClibc/pronounced yew-see-lib-see) is a C library for developing embedded Linux systems. It is much smaller then the GNU C Library, but nearly all applications supported by glibc also work perfectly with uClibc. Porting applications from glibc to uClibc typically involves just recompiling the source code. uClibc even supports shared libraries and threading. It currently runs on standard Linux and MMU-less (also known as µClinux) systems with support for alpha, ARM, i386, i960, h8300, m68k, mips/mipsel, PowerPC, SH, SPARC, and v850 processors.
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
FUEL Database on MontaVista Linux
Whether building a mobile handset, a car navigation system, a package tracking device, or a home entertainment console, developers need capable software systems, including an operating system, development tools, and supporting libraries, to gain maximum benefit from their hardware platform and to meet aggressive time-to-market goals.
Breaking New Ground: The Evolution of Linux Clustering
With a platform comprising a complete Linux distribution, enhanced for clustering, and tailored for HPC, Penguin Computing¿s Scyld Software provides the building blocks for organizations from enterprises to workgroups to deploy, manage, and maintain Linux clusters, regardless of their size.
Data Monitoring with NightStar LX
Unlike ordinary debuggers, NightStar LX doesn¿t leave you stranded in the dark. It¿s more than just a debugger, it¿s a whole suite of integrated diagnostic tools designed for time-critical Linux applications to reduce test time, increase productivity and lower costs. You can debug, monitor, analyze and tune with minimal intrusion, so you see real execution behavior. And that¿s positively illuminating.
Virtualizing Service Provider Networks with Vyatta
This paper highlights Vyatta's unique ability to virtualize networking functions using Vyatta's secure routing software in service provider environments.
High Availability Messaging Solution Using AXIGEN, Heartbeat and DRBD
This white paper discusses a high-availability messaging solution relying on the AXIGEN Mail Server, Heartbeat and DRBD. Solution architecture and implementation, as well as benefits of using AXIGEN for this setup are all presented in detail.
Understanding the Financial Benefits of Open Source
Will open source pay off? Open source is becoming standard within enterprises, often because of cost savings. Find out how much of a financial impact it can have on your organization. Get this methodology and calculator now, compliments of JBoss.
Embedded Hardware and OS Technology Empower PC-Based Platforms
The modern embedded computer is the jack of all trades appearing in many forms.
Data Management for Real-Time Distributed Systems
This paper provides an overview of the network-centric computing model, data distribution services, and distributed data management. It then describes how the SkyBoard integration and synchronization service, coupled with an implementation of the OMG¿s Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard, can be used to create an efficient data distribution, storage, and retrieval system.
7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.
|
|
|
|
|
news feed