Home/ Questions/Q 14846
Next
In Process

askthedev.com Latest Questions

Asked: 2024-09-27T04:04:40+05:30 In:

What are the steps involved in building and installing glibc from the source on an Ubuntu system?

I recently decided to dive into the nitty-gritty of building software from source, and I figured it would be a fun challenge to compile and install the GNU C Library (glibc) on my Ubuntu system. But wow, I didn’t realize how convoluted the process could be!

I started out by doing some research, but I quickly got lost in all the various guides and instructions. They seemed to be tailored to different versions or different systems altogether, and I found myself struggling to piece it all together. Could anyone walk me through the actual steps involved?

I imagine it starts with making sure you have all the necessary build dependencies installed, right? I know there’s a whole host of development tools like `build-essential`, and maybe some specific `glibc` requirements too. I usually get tripped up at that point because I’m never sure if I’m missing something crucial.

Then, I guess I’d need to download the glibc source code. I’ve heard you can fetch it with `wget` and that there are different versions out there—should I just go for the latest stable release? After that, I’m pretty sure you have to unpack it somehow.

Once everything’s unpacked, I assume it gets a bit technical with configuration options. It would be nice to know what options are common to use—I remember reading something about `–prefix` and `–enable-shared`. Should I be worrying about compatibility with my existing libraries at this point?

After configuring, compiling sounds like the next step. I’ve seen examples of using `make` and then potentially `make install`, but I’ve also heard that it’s wise to double-check how to handle the installation to avoid overwriting the existing glibc. Is there a safe way to do this?

Lastly, once I’m done with all that, how do I verify that I didn’t screw anything up? I’ve read that glibc is a core library, so I want to avoid breaking my system.

If anyone has a detailed step-by-step on how to approach this in a user-friendly way, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

Share

    Leave an answer

    You must login to add an answer.

    Need An Account,

    2 Answers

    1. To compile and install the GNU C Library (glibc) on your Ubuntu system, the first step is to ensure you have all the necessary build dependencies. You can install the essential development tools by running the following command in your terminal: sudo apt-get install build-essential. Additionally, you may need some specific dependencies for glibc, such as libc6-dev and g++. It’s a good practice to check the glibc documentation for any version-specific requirements. After installing the dependencies, you can fetch the glibc source code using wget. It is recommended to download the latest stable release from the official GNU FTP server or a mirror site, as it is usually more stable and secure than older versions. Once downloaded, you can unpack the source code with tar -xzf glibc-.tar.gz.

      After you have unpacked the source, navigate into the newly created directory. The next step is to configure the build options. A common configuration command would be ./configure --prefix=/opt/glibc --enable-shared, which specifies where to install the library and enables shared library support. Be particularly cautious about version compatibility; installing a version that conflicts with your existing libraries could lead to system instability. Once configured, compile the library by executing make. Before proceeding to install it, it’s wise to run make check to ensure everything compiled correctly. To install glibc without overwriting the existing one, use sudo make install only if you’re confident in your setup. Finally, to verify the installation, check the version with /opt/glibc/bin/ldd --version to ensure it is correctly installed and does not interfere with the system’s libc.






    2. Compiling GNU C Library (glibc) on Ubuntu

      How to Compile glibc on Ubuntu

      Compiling the GNU C Library (glibc) can be a bit tricky, but with some guidance, you can definitely get through it!

      1. Install Build Dependencies

      You’re right that the first step is to make sure you have all the necessary tools installed. You can open your terminal and run:

      sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential

      Additionally, you might need some specific dependencies for glibc. You can install them with:

      sudo apt install libc6-dev

      2. Download glibc Source Code

      Next, you need to download the source code. You can use wget to grab the latest stable version. Check the GNU C Library download page for the latest version link. For example:

      wget http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/libc/glibc-2.x.tar.gz

      Just replace 2.x with the actual version number you want to download. Once downloaded, unpack it:

      tar -xvf glibc-2.x.tar.gz

      3. Configure Build Options

      After unpacking, navigate into the directory:

      cd glibc-2.x

      Now comes the part where you configure the build. A common command looks like this:

      mkdir build
cd build
../configure --prefix=/usr/local/glibc-2.x --enable-shared

      This sets the installation path, so it won’t overwrite your system’s glibc. If you’re unsure about options, you can always check the README or INSTALL files included in the source.

      4. Compile the Source

      Now, for compiling! Just run:

      make

      Once it’s done, don’t rush to install it yet!

      5. Installing Safely

      Instead of using make install directly, which can overwrite your current libraries, you can try:

      make install DESTDIR=/usr/local/glibc-2.x

      This way, it installs glibc into a designated directory.

      6. Verify Your Installation

      Finally, it’s super important to ensure everything went smoothly. To check if it’s installed correctly, you can run:

      ldd --version

      And look for your new version in the output. Just be careful with any commands that might rely on the old glibc, as you don’t want to break your system!

      Conclusion

      That’s pretty much it! Just take your time with each step, and don’t hesitate to look up documentation if you get stuck. Good luck!


    Related Questions