Add bootstrap 15

1 files changed, 96 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/content/bootstrapGcc/15_pass_to_guix.md b/content/bootstrapGcc/15_pass_to_guix.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..69666af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/bootstrapGcc/15_pass_to_guix.md
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+Title: Milestone (End?) - Bootstrapping path discovered
+Date: 2024-07-02
+Category:
+Tags: Bootstrapping GCC in RISC-V
+Slug: bootstrapGcc15
+Lang: en
+Summary: A RISC-V bootstrapping path path has been discovered. Now it's time
+    for the distros to catch up.
+
+
+During the latest posts I described that we managed to build GCC using our
+bootstrapping chain, and also that we built a modern GCC using our bootstrapped
+one, but now, some connection work has been done. It's time to report on that.
+
+### Bootstrapping chain discovered
+
+In my [`commencement.scm`][commencement] project, I started working on a
+bootstrapping path following Andrius Štikonas' steps in live-bootstrap. His
+work is what is driving everything for several reasons: he knows how to do it
+well and Guix has a handful of peculiarities that make this way more complex
+than in live-bootstrap.
+
+First of all, live-bootstrap uses custom Makefiles for most of the projects,
+that allows it to build things without relying on the feature detection that
+the configure scripts normally use. We could do the same thing on Guix but
+that would mean rewriting many packages from scratch and Guix package
+definitions would become way more complex than what they are right now.
+
+Second, live-bootstrap is launched in some kind of a chrooted environment that
+is shared by all steps. This means all the packages in it share the `/` folder,
+and they can easily find other programs in `/bin` and libraries and stuff in
+the folders expected by the FHS. In Guix we do *not* support the FHS, and our
+packages are isolated, so we need to tweak the environment variables of the
+packages in order to make them find the dependencies. This sometimes requires
+patching the source of some packages, and here problems appear.
+
+The most heavily patched package in this regard is actually GCC. It needs to be
+able to work well with our environment and that's not easy to do. This makes my
+job harder.
+
+The good news is Andrius managed to build GCC 9.5 with the bootstrapping chain
+in live-bootstrap and that means we discovered a full-source bootstrapping
+path for RISC-V in 64 bit that is working **right now**.
+
+[commencement]: https://github.com/ekaitz-zarraga/commencement.scm
+
+### Time to make it reach a distro
+
+I managed to build GCC 9.5 with C support, using our bootstrapping path, and
+that's more than nothing, but we are working with Efraim Flashner (one of the
+Guix maintainers) to add full support for GCC 9.5 and also Janneke is working
+on top of my `commencement.scm` file to merge it with the support they already
+did for x86 (and was already done when I joined this effort).
+
+So, the efforts to include our work in Guix are currently happening and I don't
+think there's much Andrius and I can do to help in this direction. The project
+is on the hands of the people that know the best.
+
+#### Issues
+
+During the project we found some small inconveniences that we could not fix,
+and those must be improved but they'll take long time, as they come from some
+related projects. I'd love to say I have time, energy and knowledge to fix
+those, but most of them are not under my control.
+
+First we have the problem we detected with Gash, that produces hangs in the
+very first steps of the bootstrapping process. This is really hard to fix but
+Timothy Sample, the project maintainer, is working on the issue.
+
+Second, some of the projects we use in the bootstrapping process require some
+packaging skills I lack at this very moment, but they have been bootstrapped in
+live-bootstrap so this can be done. The projects are `flex` and `bison`, and
+maybe a couple more, but they are out of the scope of the project so I just
+used the non-bootstrapped ones and left them as *to-do*s in the
+`commencement.scm` file[^issue].
+
+[^issue]: I also left those because we don't build them from source in Guix
+    yet. See <https://issues.guix.gnu.org/52311>
+
+
+### What now, then?
+
+I think what to do next is pretty obvious now: handover to Guix.
+
+I'll open an issue in Guix in the following days where we'll discuss the
+inclusion of this bootstrapping path in Guix in the following months, as the
+other related issues are fixed and more steps are included in the chain.
+
+This handover process will take time because the bootstrapping path doesn't end
+in a modern GCC, but in a *proper* GCC, GLibC, and some other packages that are
+required for almost everything. Our discovery is enough to continue further,
+but we didn't do that as our goal was to provide the RISC-V support in the
+places were it wasn't ready. We have already shown that we did that. **Now I
+guess it's time for the distros to catch up**.
+
+Of course, with our help. As always.