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4 <h3>Frequently Asked Questions</h3>
6 This is a collection of some of the more frequently asked questions
7 about BusyBox. Some of the questions even have answers. If you
8 have additions to this FAQ document, we would love to add them,
11 <li><a href="#kernel">Which Linux kernel versions are supported?</a>
12 <li><a href="#arch">Which architectures does BusyBox run on?</a>
13 <li><a href="#libc">Which C libraries are supported?</a>
14 <li><a href="#commercial">Can I include BusyBox as part of the software on my device?</a>
15 <li><a href="#bugs">I think I found a bug in BusyBox! What should I do?!</a>
16 <li><a href="#job_control">Why do I keep getting "sh: can't access tty; job control
17 turned off" errors? Why doesn't Control-C work within my shell?</a>
18 <li><a href="#getting_started">How can I get started using BusyBox?</a>
19 <li><a href="#demanding">I demand that you to add <favorite feature> right now! How come
20 you don't answer all my questions on the mailing list instantly? I demand
21 that you help me with all of my problems <em>Right Now</em>!</a>
22 <li><a href="#helpme">I need help with BusyBox! What should I do?</a>
23 <li><a href="#contracts">I need you to add <favorite feature>! Are the BusyBox developers willing to
24 be paid in order to fix bugs or add in <favorite feature>? Are you willing to provide
25 support contracts?</a>
26 <li><a href="#support">I think you guys are great and I want to help support your work!</a>
34 <h2><a name="kernel">Which Linux kernel versions are supported?</a></h2>
38 Full functionality requires Linux 2.2.x or better. A large fraction of the
39 code should run on just about anything. While the current code is fairly
40 Linux specific, it should be fairly easy to port the majority of the code
41 to support, say, FreeBSD or Solaris, or Mac OS X, or even Windows (if you
42 are into that sort of thing).
47 <h2><a name="arch">Which architectures does BusyBox run on?</a></h2>
51 BusyBox in general will build on any architecture supported by gcc.
52 Kernel module loading for 2.2 and 2.4 Linux kernels is currently
53 limited to ARM, CRIS, H8/300, x86, ia64, x86_64, m68k, MIPS, PowerPC,
54 S390, SH3/4/5, Sparc, v850e, and x86_64 for 2.4.x kernels.
56 With 2.6.x kernels, module loading support should work on all architectures.
61 <h2><a name="libc">Which C libraries are supported?</a></h2>
65 uClibc and glibc are supported. People have been looking at newlib and
66 dietlibc, but they are currently considered unsupported, untested, or
67 worse. Linux-libc5 is no longer supported. If you require a small C
68 library, you should probably use uClibc.
73 <h2><a name="commercial">Can I include BusyBox as part of the software on my device?</h2>
75 Yes. As long as you <a href="http://busybox.net/license.html">fully comply
76 with the generous terms of the GPL BusyBox license</a> you can ship BusyBox
77 as part of the software on your device.
80 <a href="#support">Please consider sharing some of the money you make.</a>
85 <h2><a name="bugs">I think I found a bug in BusyBox! What should I do?</h2>
91 If you simply need help with using or configuring BusyBox, please submit a
92 detailed description of your problem to the BusyBox mailing list at <a
93 href="mailto:busybox@mail.busybox.net"> busybox@mail.busybox.net</a>.
94 Please do not send private email to Erik (the maintainer of BusyBox) asking
95 for private help unless you are planning on paying for consulting services.
96 When we answer questions on the BusyBox mailing list, it helps everyone,
97 while private answers help only you...
101 The developers of BusyBox are busy people, and have only so much they can
102 keep in their brains at a time. As a result, bug reports sometimes get
103 lost when posted to the mailing list. To prevent your bug report from
104 getting lost, if you find a bug in BusyBox, please use the <a
105 href="http://bugs.busybox.net/">BusyBox Bug and Patch Tracking System</a>
106 to submit a detailed bug report.
110 The same also applies to patches... Regardless of whether your patch is a
111 bug fix or adds shiney new features, please post your patch to the <a
112 href="http://bugs.busybox.net/">BusyBox Bug and Patch Tracking System</a>
113 to make certain it is properly considered.
118 <h2><a name="job_control">Why do I keep getting "sh: can't access tty; job control
119 turned off" errors? Why doesn't Control-C work within my shell?</a></h2>
122 Job control will be turned off since your shell can not obtain a controlling
123 terminal. This typically happens when you run your shell on /dev/console.
124 The kernel will not provide a controlling terminal on the /dev/console
125 device. Your should run your shell on a normal tty such as tty1 or ttyS0
126 and everything will work perfectly. If you <em>REALLY</em> want your shell
127 to run on /dev/console, then you can hack your kernel (if you are into that
128 sortof thing) by changing drivers/char/tty_io.c to change the lines where
129 it sets "noctty = 1;" to instead set it to "0". I recommend you instead
130 run your shell on a real console...
135 <h2><a name="getting_started">How can I get started using BusyBox?</a></h2>
138 An easy method to build your own basic BusyBox based system, is to
139 follow these simple steps:
141 <li> Point your web browser <a href="/cgi-bin/cvsweb/buildroot/">here</a>
142 <li> Click on "Download tarball"
143 <li> Unpack the tarball on your Linux system somewhere
144 <li> run 'make' and configure things to taste.
145 <li> run 'unset CC'. Some Linux systems (i.e. Gentoo) set 'CC'
146 in the system environment which messes up cross compiles.
148 <li> go have lunch, drink a pop, call a friend, play a video game, etc
149 till it finishes downloading software and compiling things.
150 <li> You should now have a shiny new BusyBox based system.
156 <h2><a name="demanding">I demand that you to add <favorite feature> right now! How come
157 you don't answer all my questions on the mailing list instantly? I demand
158 that you help me with all of my problems <em>Right Now</em>!</a></h2>
161 You have not paid us a single cent and yet you still have the product of
162 many years of our work. We are not your slaves! We work on BusyBox
163 because we find it useful and interesting. If you go off flaming us, we
169 <h2><a name="helpme">I need help with BusyBox! What should I do?</a></h2>
172 If you find that you need help with BusyBox, you can ask for help on the
173 BusyBox mailing list at busybox@mail.busybox.net. In addition to the BusyBox
174 mailing list, Erik (andersee), Manuel (mjn3) and others are known to hang out
175 on the uClibc IRC channel: #uclibc on irc.freenode.net.
179 <b>Please do not send private email to Erik, Manuel, or the other BusyBox
180 contributors asking for private help unless you are planning on paying for
181 consulting services.</b>
185 When we answer questions on the BusyBox mailing list, it helps everyone
186 since people with similar problems in the future will be able to get help
187 by searching the mailing list archives. Private help is reserved as a paid
188 service. If you need to use private communication, or if you are serious
189 about getting timely assistance with BusyBox, you should seriously consider
190 paying for consulting services.
198 <h2><a name="contracts">I need you to add <favorite feature>! Are the BusyBox
199 developers willing to be paid in order to fix bugs or add in <favorite feature>?
200 Are you willing to provide support contracts?</a></h2>
203 Sure! Now you have our attention! What you should do is contact <a
204 href="mailto:andersen@codepoet.org">Erik Andersen</a> of <a
205 href="http://codepoet-consulting.com/">CodePoet Consulting</a> to bid
206 on your project. If Erik is too busy to personally add your feature, there
207 are many other active BusyBox contributors who will almost certainly be able
208 to help you out. Erik can contact them privately, and may even let you to
209 post your request for services on the mailing list.
214 <h2><a name="support">I think you guys are great and I want to help support your work!</a></h2>
217 Wow, that would be great! Erik personally pays for all the bandwidth, and
218 all servers used for busybox.net out of his own pocket. If you would like
219 to make a donation to help support BusyBox, and/or request features, you
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235 If you prefer to contact Erik directly to make a donation, donate hardware,
236 request support, etc, you can contact
237 <a href="http://codepoet-consulting.com/">CodePoet Consulting</a> here.
238 CodePoet Consulting can accept both Visa and MasterCard for those that do not
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