Obtaining the Sources

A uClinux source distribution actually consists of two parts, the kernel itself (called uClinux-2.4.x), and the user land distribution that contains user programs, C libraries and so on (called uClinux-dist).  You need both components to build a working uClinux system.

The sources are held under version control in a CVS repository at www.uclinux.org.  Check out CVSHome for all you can ever want to know about CVS.

Following are step by step instructions for obtaining the uClinux kernel and distribution sources.

1. Login to the uClinux anonymous CVS server
   
   $ cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.uclinux.org:/var/cvs login
   
   Press enter when prompted for a password
    

2. Decide where you want the uClinux distribution tree to live, say ~/uClinux-dist.  Obviously you need write permissions in this directory.
   
   $ cd ~
    
3. Get the uClinux distribution environment, uClinux-dist.  This can take a while, there's over a hundred megabytes to download.
   
   cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.uclinux.org:/var/cvs co uClinux-dist
    
4. Get the uClinux-2.4.x source, and place it next to the uClinux-dist directory.  This too can take a while, though not as long as uClinux-dist.
   
   $ cd ~
   $ cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.uclinux.org:/var/cvs co uClinux-2.4.x
    
5. Make a symbolic link mapping uClinux-2.4.x as uClinux-dist/linux-2.4.x
   
   $ cd ~/uClinux-dist
   $ ln -s ../uClinux-2.4.x linux-2.4.x
    
6. You are now ready to build the kernel and file system image.
    
7. After the initial checkout, follow the procedures outlined for maintaining your source distribution.