root/branches/vendor/third/perl/Cross/README @ 20074

Building for arm-linux
----------------------

The files in this directory add another cross-compilation
target to the Perl buildsystem.  It was built as a part of
the Open Zaurus (http://www.openzaurus.com/) distribution.
Most / All of the arm compiler optimisations are "borrowed"
from this excellent project.

The main target is arm-linux but I have also managed to
successfully cross-compile Perl for Solaris x86 using the same
buildsystem.

We are currently dependent on an existing working local copy of
Perl ** of the same version and revision ** which is available
as /usr/bin/perl. 

You need a working and tested cross-compiler for your build
and target combination.  The binary directory must be in
your path.

1)      You should be reading me (README) in perl-5.8.3/Cross

2)      Make sure you are in the Cross directory.

3)      Edit the file 'config' to contain your target platform information.

4)      make patch      ## This will patch the existing source-tree.
5)      make perl       ## Will make perl

Your built Perl environment is in install_me_here/ in your build
directory.  From here you can package and deploy as you wish.

The Obvious Ommissions
----------------------

This does NOT perform any installation as site installation method
will be dependent on the target architecture and OS. 

make test will NOT work as the binaries and libraries will not execute
on your BUILD machine. 

Due to space limitations on the Zaurus (it's a PDA) we do not provide
documentation in the core - Therefore man pages are not even generated.

Other Targets (For Developers)
------------------------------

It is possible to extend the cross-compilation to other targets.
We have sucessfully compiled for the target solaris2.8/x86
on linux/x86 build system.

To attempt a cross-compile for another target using the methods
in this directory:

1)      Copy the Perl source code onto your TARGET machine.
2)      Execute sh Configure as normal and configure as required,
        do not "make".
3)      Copy the config.sh file that is generated to your BUILD
        machine and place it in the Cross directory with the
        filename config.sh-ARCH-OS.  For example,
        config.sh-i386-pc-solaris2.8.  For the appropriate ARCH
        and OS please refer to your cross-compiler documentation.
4)      Edit Cross/config to reflect your new target and continue
        with build as above.

Should you wish to produce optimised binaries for different
architectures you can add the appropriate compiler flags to
the Makefile in a new ifeq ($(ARCH),...) ... endif block.


Please refer to your cross-compiler documentation for details.


        Note that the Cross/ directory is also used by a different
        cross-compilation setup described in the INSTALL file, and
        executed by Configure.  There should be no conflicts since
        it is unlikely both that cross-compilation setups are used
        simultaneously.

Enjoy!

References
----------
Redvers Davies <red@criticalintegration.com>
Open Zaurus http://www.openzaurus.org/
Perl OZ Packages http://www.criticalintegration.com/perl-oz/