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Diffstat (limited to 'doc/guix.texi')
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/guix.texi | 117 |
1 files changed, 63 insertions, 54 deletions
diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi index c1e23b5ef3..2b1f307c2d 100644 --- a/doc/guix.texi +++ b/doc/guix.texi @@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ Copyright @copyright{} 2016, 2017, 2018 Chris Marusich@* Copyright @copyright{} 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Efraim Flashner@* Copyright @copyright{} 2016 John Darrington@* Copyright @copyright{} 2016, 2017 Nikita Gillmann@* -Copyright @copyright{} 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Jan Nieuwenhuizen@* +Copyright @copyright{} 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Jan Nieuwenhuizen@* Copyright @copyright{} 2016 Julien Lepiller@* Copyright @copyright{} 2016 Alex ter Weele@* Copyright @copyright{} 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Christopher Baines@* @@ -28761,10 +28761,8 @@ Binutils, libc, and the other packages mentioned above---the @dfn{bootstrap binaries}. These bootstrap binaries are ``taken for granted'', though we can also -re-create them if needed (more on that later). - -For @code{i686-linux} and @code{x86_64-linux} the Guix bootstrap process is -more elaborate, @pxref{Reduced Binary Seed Bootstrap}. +re-create them if needed (@pxref{Preparing to Use the Bootstrap +Binaries}). @menu * Reduced Binary Seed Bootstrap:: A Bootstrap worthy of GNU. @@ -28780,60 +28778,71 @@ Coreutils, Awk, Findutils, `sed', and `grep' and Guile, GCC, Binutils, and the GNU C Library (@pxref{Bootstrapping}). Usually, these bootstrap binaries are ``taken for granted.'' -Taking these binaries for granted means that we consider them to be a correct -and trustworthy `seed' for building the complete system. Therein lies a -problem: the current combined size of these bootstrap binaries is about 250MB -(@pxref{Bootstrappable Builds,,, mes, GNU Mes}). Auditing or even inspecting -these is next to impossible. +Taking the bootstrap binaries for granted means that we consider them to +be a correct and trustworthy ``seed'' for building the complete system. +Therein lies a problem: the combined size of these bootstrap binaries is +about 250MB (@pxref{Bootstrappable Builds,,, mes, GNU Mes}). Auditing +or even inspecting these is next to impossible. -For @code{i686-linux} and @code{x86_64-linux}, Guix now features a ``Reduced -Binary Seed'' bootstrap @footnote{We would like to say: ``Full Source -Bootstrap'' and while we are working towards that goal it would be hyperbole -to use that term for what we do now.}. +For @code{i686-linux} and @code{x86_64-linux}, Guix now features a +``Reduced Binary Seed'' bootstrap @footnote{We would like to say: ``Full +Source Bootstrap'' and while we are working towards that goal it would +be hyperbole to use that term for what we do now.}. The Reduced Binary Seed bootstrap removes the most critical tools---from a trust perspective---from the bootstrap binaries: GCC, Binutils and the GNU C Library are replaced by: @code{bootstrap-mescc-tools} (a tiny assembler and linker) and @code{bootstrap-mes} (a small Scheme Interpreter and a C compiler -written in Scheme and the Mes C Library, built for TinyCC and for GCC). Using -these new binary seeds and a new set of -@c -packages@footnote{@c -nyacc-boot, -mes-boot, -tcc-boot0, -tcc-boot, -make-mesboot0, -diffutils-mesboot, -binutils-mesboot0, -gcc-core-mesboot, -mesboot-headers, -glibc-mesboot0, -gcc-mesboot0, -binutils-mesboot, -make-mesboot, -gcc-mesboot1, -gcc-mesboot1-wrapper, -glibc-headers-mesboot, -glibc-mesboot, -gcc-mesboot, -and -gcc-mesboot-wrapper. -} -@c -the ``missing'' Binutils, GCC, and the GNU C Library are built from source. -From here on the more traditional bootstrap process resumes. This approach -has reduced the bootstrap binaries in size to about 130MB. Work is ongoing to -reduce this further. If you are interested, join us on @code{#bootstrappable} -on the Freenode IRC network. - -@c ./pre-inst-env guix graph --type=bag -e '(begin (use-modules (guix packages)) (%current-system "i686-linux") (@@ (gnu packages commencement) gcc-mesboot))' > doc/images/gcc-mesboot-bag-graph.dot -@c dot -T png doc/images/gcc-mesboot-bag-graph.dot > doc/images/gcc-mesboot-bag-graph.png - -Below is the generated dependency graph for @code{gcc-mesboot}, the bootstrap -compiler used to build the rest of GuixSD. - -@image{images/gcc-mesboot-bag-graph,6in,,Dependency graph of the gcc-mesboot} +written in Scheme and the Mes C Library, built for TinyCC and for GCC). + +Using these new binary seeds the ``missing'' Binutils, GCC, and the GNU +C Library are built from source. From here on the more traditional +bootstrap process resumes. This approach has reduced the bootstrap +binaries in size to about 145MB in Guix v1.1. + +The next step that Guix has taken is to replace the shell and all its +utilities with implementations in Guile Scheme, the @emph{Scheme-only +bootstrap}. Gash (@pxref{Gash,,, gash, The Gash manual}) is a +POSIX-compatible shell that replaces Bash, and it comes with Gash Utils +which has minimalist replacements for Awk, the GNU Core Utilities, Grep, +Gzip, Sed, and Tar. The rest of the bootstrap binary seeds that were +removed are now built from source. + +Building the GNU System from source is currently only possibly by adding +some historical GNU packages as intermediate steps@footnote{Packages +such as @code{gcc-2.95.3}, @code{binutils-2.14}, @code{glibc-2.2.5}, +@code{gzip-1.2.4}, @code{tar-1.22}, and some others. For details, see +@file{gnu/packages/commencement.scm}.}. As Gash and Gash Utils mature, +and GNU packages become more bootstrappable again (e.g., new releases of +GNU Sed will also ship as gzipped tarballs again, as alternative to the +hard to bootstrap @code{xz}-compression), this set of added packages can +hopefully be reduced again. + +The graph below shows the resulting dependency graph for +@code{gcc-core-mesboot0}, the bootstrap compiler used for the +traditional bootstrap of the rest of the Guix System. + +@c ./pre-inst-env guix graph -e '(@@ (gnu packages commencement) gcc-core-mesboot0)' | sed -re 's,((bootstrap-mescc-tools|bootstrap-mes|guile-bootstrap).*shape =) box,\1 ellipse,' > doc/images/gcc-core-mesboot0-graph.dot +@image{images/gcc-core-mesboot0-graph,6in,,Dependency graph of gcc-core-mesboot0} + +The only significant binary bootstrap seeds that remain@footnote{ +Ignoring the 68KB @code{mescc-tools}; that will be removed later, +together with @code{mes}.} are a Scheme intepreter and a Scheme +compiler: GNU Mes and GNU Guile@footnote{Not shown in this graph are the +static binaries for @file{bash}, @code{tar}, and @code{xz} that are used +to get Guile running.}. + +This further reduction has brought down the size of the binary seed to +about 60MB for @code{i686-linux} and @code{x86_64-linux}. + +Work is ongoing to remove all binary blobs from our free software +bootstrap stack, working towards a Full Source Bootstrap. Also ongoing +is work to bring these bootstraps to the @code{arm-linux} and +@code{aarch64-linux} architectures and to the Hurd. + +If you are interested, join us on @samp{#bootstrappable} on the Freenode +IRC network or discuss on @email{bug-mes@@gnu.org} or +@email{gash-devel@@nongnu.org}. @node Preparing to Use the Bootstrap Binaries @section Preparing to Use the Bootstrap Binaries @@ -28853,7 +28862,7 @@ guix graph -t derivation \ | dot -Tps > gcc.ps @end example -or, for the Reduced Binary Seed bootstrap +or, for the further Reduced Binary Seed bootstrap @example guix graph -t derivation \ |