RISC OS Open have published a guided tour describing the processes involved in building RISC OS from scratch. The new web page outlines how programmers can roll their own printer stack, disc-based applications and ROM images.The online document on the ROOL wiki is the latest update in the ongoing drip-drip of information from the RISC OS 5 shared source camp as developers and punters eagerly await the release of the operating system source code.
Although the OS's blueprints have yet to be disclosed under Castle's customised shared source licence, ROOL have been publicly documenting the ins and outs of their project in the meantime. The ROOL team are made up of ex-Acorn and ex-Tematic engineers.
According to ROOL's Steve Revill, there are four important steps to building RISC OS: First, you have to set up the project's directories, known as the 'build tree', on your local computer. Secondly, you have to choose what you wish to compile, such as the USB printing system, which involves using a special application with a user-interface to control the build system. Thirdly, you can launch the actual build process, and fourthly, check to see if anything went wrong in the logs.
Steve noted: "Checking the build log for problems is something of a black art. In the very simplest terms, if the thing you were building has popped out of the build and into 'Images' for a ROM image, or 'Install' for disc-based software, then you're most of the way there.
"However, you should still look for significant warnings and errors in the log file."
Steve also warned coders that the document is likely to be revised and updated as time passes.
Links
How to build RISC OS 5