Linux From Scratch - Version SVN-20150308

Chapter 5. Constructing a Temporary System

5.15. Ncurses-5.9

The Ncurses package contains libraries for terminal-independent handling of character screens.

Approximate build time: 0.5 SBU
Required disk space: 45 MB

5.15.1. Installation of Ncurses

5.15.2. 32-bit Installation

Prepare Ncurses for 32-bit compilation: 

./configure --prefix=/tools \
            --libdir=/tools/lib32 \
            --with-shared   \
            --without-debug \
            --without-ada   \
            --enable-widec  \
            --enable-overwrite \
            CC="gcc -m32" CXX="g++ -m32"

The meaning of the configure options:

--without-ada

This ensures that Ncurses does not build support for the Ada compiler which may be present on the host but will not be available once we enter the chroot environment.

--enable-overwrite

This tells Ncurses to install its header files into /tools/include, instead of /tools/include/ncurses, to ensure that other packages can find the Ncurses headers successfully.

--enable-widec

This switch causes wide-character libraries (e.g., libncursesw.so.5.9) to be built instead of normal ones (e.g., libncurses.so.5.9). These wide-character libraries are usable in both multibyte and traditional 8-bit locales, while normal libraries work properly only in 8-bit locales. Wide-character and normal libraries are source-compatible, but not binary-compatible.

Compile the package: 

make

This package has a test suite, but it can only be run after the package has been installed. The tests reside in the test/ directory. See the README file in that directory for further details.

Install the package: 

make install

Clean up the build directory before moving on to the next platform: 

make clean

5.15.3. x32 ABI Installation

Prepare Ncurses for x32 ABI compilation: 

./configure --prefix=/tools \
            --libdir=/tools/libx32 \
            --with-shared   \
            --without-debug \
            --without-ada   \
            --enable-widec  \
            --enable-overwrite \
            CC="gcc -mx32" CXX="g++ -mx32"

The meaning of the configure options:

--without-ada

This ensures that Ncurses does not build support for the Ada compiler which may be present on the host but will not be available once we enter the chroot environment.

--enable-overwrite

This tells Ncurses to install its header files into /tools/include, instead of /tools/include/ncurses, to ensure that other packages can find the Ncurses headers successfully.

--enable-widec

This switch causes wide-character libraries (e.g., libncursesw.so.5.9) to be built instead of normal ones (e.g., libncurses.so.5.9). These wide-character libraries are usable in both multibyte and traditional 8-bit locales, while normal libraries work properly only in 8-bit locales. Wide-character and normal libraries are source-compatible, but not binary-compatible.

Compile the package: 

make

This package has a test suite, but it can only be run after the package has been installed. The tests reside in the test/ directory. See the README file in that directory for further details.

Install the package: 

make install

Clean up the build directory before moving on to the next platform: 

make clean

5.15.4. 64-bit Installation

Prepare Ncurses for 64-bit compilation: 

./configure --prefix=/tools \
            --with-shared   \
            --without-debug \
            --without-ada   \
            --enable-widec  \
            --enable-overwrite

The meaning of the configure options:

--without-ada

This ensures that Ncurses does not build support for the Ada compiler which may be present on the host but will not be available once we enter the chroot environment.

--enable-overwrite

This tells Ncurses to install its header files into /tools/include, instead of /tools/include/ncurses, to ensure that other packages can find the Ncurses headers successfully.

--enable-widec

This switch causes wide-character libraries (e.g., libncursesw.so.5.9) to be built instead of normal ones (e.g., libncurses.so.5.9). These wide-character libraries are usable in both multibyte and traditional 8-bit locales, while normal libraries work properly only in 8-bit locales. Wide-character and normal libraries are source-compatible, but not binary-compatible.

Compile the package: 

make

This package has a test suite, but it can only be run after the package has been installed. The tests reside in the test/ directory. See the README file in that directory for further details.

Install the package: 

make install

Details on this package are located in Section 6.23.5, “Contents of Ncurses.”