README

Northstar linux is an experimental linux distribution based on sabotage[1]
linux. Northstar builds its core userspace statically using the musl[2] C 
standard library. Dynamic linking support is under development, but is very
experimental at this point and only targeting bloated software and a small
set of extreneous languages that require dynamic objects.

=== BOOTSTRAP INSTRUCTIONS:

To build northstar linux on a foreign linux system, you must first create a
bootstrap toolchain and then a chroot environment. 

--- Building a bootstrap toolchain:

The bootstrap toolchain is built statically and installed to the prefix $BS
(default: /tmp/bootstrap) which is then mounted read-only at the same point 
inside the chroot.

  cp dist/bootstrap.config config
  # set ARCH and MAKE_THREADS
  vi config
  . config
  mk install-bootstrap

--- Preparing and entering the chroot:

At this point there should be toolchain capable of building northstar proper 
inside a chroot. The next step is to prepare the chroot environment, copy the
northstar source tree inside the chroot, and enter the chroot.

  . config
  utils/prepare-chroot
  utils/mount-chroot
  # copy the source tree into $NS_ROOT
  cp -r . $NS_ROOT/src/northstar
  utils/enter-chroot
  # ...
  utils/umount-chroot
  
NOTE: remember to unmount the bind mounts inside the chroot before modifying
  the contents of $NS_ROOT (eg: deleting them) or you could  delete  /dev/*,
  causing varying amounts of damage to your host system.

=== BUILD INSTRUCTIONS:

Once you are running in a bootstrap environment, you can use mk to build 
northstar packages, building and installing any build dependencies as needed.

  cd /src/northstar
  cp dist/stage1.config config
  # set ARCH and MAKE_THREADS
  vi config
  . config
  mk install-devel
  mk install-core

=== LINKS ===
[1] http://github.com/chneukirchen/sabotage
    http://github.com/rofl0r/sabotage
[2] http://www.etalabs.net/musl