Preparing libraries for cross compiling Debian packages
Author: Neil Williams

# dpkg-cross (2.0.0)

## Preparing libraries for cross compiling Debian packages.

### Introduction

dpkg-cross is a tool to install and manage libraries and header files for cross compiling. dpkg-cross converts native Debian packages for the target architecture to cross compiling support packages that can be installed on any architecture, but in different paths to avoid conflicts. It then calls dpkg to install the converted package. The conversion step alone can be done with the --build option. Other options are wrappers around corresponding dpkg functionality.
dpkg-cross has only a limited future. Some functionality has already been migrated into dpkg, some functionality has been dropped during the rewrite to support dpkg and the rewritten apt-cross. Eventually, dpkg-cross will merge into dpkg and apt-cross is likely to merge into apt.

### Changes and components dropped in 2.0.0

1. dpkg-buildpackage diversion - implemented in dpkg itself.
2. dpkg-shlibdeps diversion - implemented in dpkg itself.
3. Fix broken CC_FOR_BUILD handling in diverted dpkg-buildpackage (Closes: #437507).
4. Migrate to CDBS.
5. Removal of old cross-compile files - generalised, some loss of support for corner cases that would need a different solution for the final dpkg code.
6. buildcross: new shell library to replace perl dpkg-buildpackage diversion (temporary).
7. removed the lintian overrides for previously diverted scripts.
8. ChangeLog: close old file and use only the installed debian changelog.
9. Remove old diversions when installing instead of removing.
10. crosstools: removed empty file.
11. Merge dpkg-shlibdeps into dpkg (Closes: #283626).
12. Replace cross-compile.example with cross-compile.sample.
13. dpkg-cross should also handle /usr/lib/ldscripts (Closes: #401058).
14. shlibs must also search /usr/$libpath (Closes: #32340).
15. dpkg-buildpackage -S is confused by other-arch changes file. (Closes: #429555).
16. Debian/DpkgCross.pm: add new function convert_filename($).
17. NEWS, README.debian, README.cvs: Start the long goodbye - signal the intention to remove dpkg-cross after Lenny.
18. debconf dependency unsatisfiable with cdebconf (Closes: #441940).
19. Generate POD content and update man page for latest changes.

### Alioth

dpkg-cross is a Debian native project, hosted at Alioth.

Alioth hosts the dpkg-cross CVS repository.

The copyright licensing notice below applies to this text.

Copyright © 2007 Neil Williams

Permission is granted to copy, distribute, and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of this license is included in the file copying.txt.