[LinuxPPS] HOWTO (was - Kernel Include files needed in Userland.)

[Cirilo Bernardo]

On Wed, Aug 27, 2008 at 1:21 AM,  <clemens at dwf.com> wrote:
>
> With respect to the files needed in userland.
> Does ANYONE know how we get these things into the LINUX distributions, as
> opposed
> to those that are part of the KERNEL tree where Rodolfo just has to submit his
> change
> file to the Linux Gods?
> --
>                                        Reg.Clemens
>                                        reg at dwf.com

There are several ways:
1. Ask the NTP maintainer in each distribution if they would include
this as a separate package and also compile the default NTP with
LinuxPPS support.
2. Create a package for your favorite distribution and push for
inclusion in the official package list.

I think (1) is the best option; (2) will result in the LinuxPPS tools
(most importantly ppsldisc) being separate from NTP.  Anyone who
wishes to take advantage of LinuxPPS will have to rebuild their own
NTP.

Personally, at this stage I would not hound the Debian NTP maintainer
yet although I see no harm in writing a letter to make them aware of
the future inclusion of LinuxPPS and the ppsldisc tools which may be
useful for people (and that the NTP modifications will not interfere
at all with anyone's use of NTP - it simply adds an option for people
with PPS sources).

I think it would be best if we have a list of distros to approach and
people volunteer to contact the various teams.  Ideally people should
be familiar with the packaging system for that distribution so that
they can work with the NTP  maintainer if required.  I would not
target ALL distros - that is just silly - just contact maybe the most
popular - maybe:
RedHat
Debian
Suse
Gentoo
Slackware

Other distros will probably follow suit since the maintainers often
keep track of what's happening in other distros.  In the case of
Debian, the numerous Debian-based distros will ultimately have all
these tools.

- Cirilo