compiling + making extensions : noob question

[julianb]

so when I compiled a driver for my wireless card (realtek rtl8187) it eventually worked (like magic!) but I didn't really understand the process.

Namely, what files got created, and where.

I went to the directory where the "makefile" was (with a lot of the other files from the source tarball) and ran the command "make", and then I ran the included script called "wlan0up".

But I wanted to gather all files produced by "make" to try to turn them into a tinycore extension i can keep around... only I don't know where the files were placed automagically.

Can anyone help me understand "make", and help me understand where my computer put files in order to make wireless work?

[combo3]

Viewing the contents of Makefile and wlan0up should provide you with the information.

(On a side note, rtl8187 is already included in wireless-2.6.29.1-tinycore.tczm.)

[julianb]

Thanks for responding. The makefile is full of stuff that I don't understand but it also seems to contain info about where the files are going. namely /lib/modules/((kernel version))/kernel/drivers/net/wireless (and maybe /lib/modules/((kernel version))/build ). The shell scripts called makedrv and install also point at directories.

((kernel version)) mentioned above would be "2.6.29.1-tinycore", currently.

This machine is definitely not working with just the package you mention. nothing called "wlan0" or "ath0" shows up if I try to use iwconfig. This is when I have wireless_tools... plus wireless-2.6.29.1-tinycore.tczm or wireless-2.6.29.1-tinycore.tczm or both.

"eth0, dummy0, and lo" are showing up with no wireless extensions, which i think is normal.

[Juanito]

If you want to see where the files go when you run make, make install or a script:

1. load the beaver (or other text editor) and find extensions
2.

Code: [Select]

$ touch mymarker
$ [run command]
$ sudo find / -not -type 'd' -cnewer mymarker | grep -v "\/proc\/" | grep -v "^\/sys\/" | tee files
$ beaver files

This will list the files that have been added or changed.

[^thehatsrule^]

or using DESTDIR may be useful.  These methods are in the "creating extensions" wiki page, iirc.