Chapter 12. Sources of Help and Information

There are various places you can get help which include:

This Guide

This includes specific information relating to a selection of ARMLinux devices and generic info on tools and techniques.

Our web site will also grow to contain much useful ARMLinux information.

The ARMLinux Web site

http://www.arm.linux.org.uk/ will take you to Russell King's main ARMLinux site which is the definitive source for current ARMLinux kernel updates, ARM architecture information and general info.

Debian Resources

The Debian Project (http://www.debian.org/) provides a number of guides and mailing lists which cater for different audiences. Reference has however only been made to documentation which is complete and up to date. Interested readers should consequently refer to The Debian Documentation Project's web page (http://www.debian.org/doc/ddp/) for details of work in progress.

Debian Mailing Lists

There are a number of mailing lists for this Linux distribution but is a good place to direct your questions. To subscribe, type "subscribe" in the subject line and mail to

In order to find out about other mailing lists, take a look at mailing-lists/txt which is on the Aleph One CD in the Doc directory.

You can also refer to the section called Mailing Lists for details of ARM-specific lists.

Debian Help

You can similarly learn how to solve Debian-specific problems by pointing your browser to http://www.debianhelp.org/.

News Groups

There are many news groups which provide useful information which is not strictly speaking ARMLinux specific but which is none the worse for this including:

  • comp.os.linux.advocacy which will keep you in touch with current software releases.

  • comp.os.linux.answers which provides the definitive source of information for current HOWTOs and FAQs.

  • uk.comp.os.linux which is a useful source of help.

The Doc folder on this CD

This directory contains information which will be of interest to users and developers including:

FAQ/

The Debian/GNU Linux FAQ in HTML, PostScript and Plain Text formats.

constitution.txt

The Debian Constitution.

debian-manifesto

How it all started...

mailing-lists.txt

How to subscribe to the Debian mailing lists.

social-contract.txt

Describes Debian's commitment to free software.

source-unpack.txt

How to unpack a Debian source package.

debian-keyring.tar.gz

Developers' Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) keys.

bug-reporting.txt

How to report a bug in Debian.

package-developer/

Documentation for developers.

Aleph One Technical Support

If you bought this book with a CD direct from Aleph One then it comes with technical support. Please email first, but if things get complicated than a phone call may be useful, quoting your registration code, and we will do our best to help. This service is currently focused on helping you to get ARMLinux installed and set up; queries about other aspects of Linux are probably best directed elsewhere.

The support email address is . The support phone number is 01223 811679.

Mailing Lists

There are now quite a few, and which one(s) are most appropriate, depends on your level of experience and area of interest.

linux-arm

. This is the main ARMLinux list which covers ARMLinux topics not specific to and of the other mailing lists. This covers all architectures that ARMLinux is used on (Desktops, PDAs, development boards etc), so much of the discussion is not specifically related to your machine. Users who have ceased to be newbies will find this of interest. To subscribe send "subscribe" (in the body of the message) to , or use the web interface at:http://www.arm.linux.org.uk/armlinux/mailinglists.shtml.

linux-arm-kernel

is for kernel-related discussions, generally of a technical nature. This normally covers the kernel, related tools and new hardware. If you are a Linux beginner you won't understand a word of what goes on here :-) This is the place for those interested in the grubby stuff. To subscribe send "subscribe" (in the body of the message) to .

linux-arm-announce

is a moderated low-traffic list for announcements relevant to ARMLinux. To subscribe send "subscribe" (in the body of the message) to .

armlinux-toolchain

This list serves mainly as a place for developers to discuss any aspect of the GNU development toolchain on the ARM architecture (including other operating systems). It's also a diagnostic forum to an extent, if you're having problems. http://www.armlinux.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/armlinux-toolchain and fill in the form. An archive of submissions to this group is also available from http://www.armlinux.org/pipermail/armlinux-toolchain/

ARMLinux-newbie

There is a mailing list specifically for people new to ARMLinux, where you are positively encouraged to ask stupid questions. This is aimed at users as opposed to developers, particularly RISC OS machine users and PDA users ,and is at . This is not the place to ask about toolchains, the kernel, or any development-type questions. This is the place for installation problems, and questions about software that just crashes or doesn't seem to work right. We recommend that all users join this list so that the community can help each other out and compare notes. An archive of submissions to this group is also available from http://www.armlinux.org/pipermail/armlinux-newbie/.

Debian ARM

If you are using, or working on, the Debian ARM distribution then is the place to talk to other users and developers about any ARM-specific issues. Debian has loads of maiing lists for other aspects of the distribution.

Emdebian

is a project to make Debian work on small embedded systems and PDAs. It supplies a very good Toolchain and experimental software (CML2+OS)to generate small installations and kernels from the huge Debian archve. It needs some more active developers - join this list if you think you can help or are interested in the design process.

Lart

is the place for all tings LARTy. All LART users should be subscribed here. Its the place to get hardware or software help and discuss the possibilities of your LART.

Psion PDAs

is concerned with the Psion 5/5mx/7 port of ARMLinux. This is a list both for developers and users. Information for the 5mx has recently been obtained from Psion so the list has been revitalised with the new porting activity.

StrongARM issues

is for those who are interested in StrongARM-specific issues - primarily kernel development.

iPAQ PDAs

The iPAQ has proved a very popular ARM/PDA development platform due to Compaq's support. There is an active community working on distributions and the hardware on this list: . Handhelds.org also has other lists, not necessarily specifc to ARM.

Reading List

There are many good books about UNIX and Linux. None of them are aimed specifically at ARMLinux but most will nevertheless be helpful. A list of books and ISBNs which we have found helpful is provided in the bibliography.

Books On-Line

A number of commercially available books and sample chapters are also available on-line including:

Learning Debian GNU/Linux

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/debian/chapter/index.html/

Learning the Vi Editor

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/vi6/chapter/ch08.html/

The UNIX CD Bookshelf

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/unixcd/chapter/index.html/

Bibliography

Running Linux, Matt Welsh, Matthias Kalle Dalheimer, and Lar Kaufman, 3rd Edition, 156592469X, O'Reilly & Associates, 1999.