Using Portage for Cross Compiling

[Kumba]

I am wondering if Portage has a mode, or can be configured to do cross compiling work for a different architecture, and keep that architecture's files/libs separate from the native system.

I've recently accquired an SGI Indigo2 w/ an R4400@250MHz, and want to give a shot at porting. I plan on following the MIPS cross-compile FAQ/HOW-TO located at this site: http://foobazco.org/~wesolows/mips-cross.html (modifying to match the current version(s) of software). I figure that faq could get a basic set of build libraries up, much like what is found on the Gentoo install CDs. I do wonder though, if in some fashion, Portage could be used to simplify some of the material in that article.

I'm thinking of attempting the cross-compile from my sparc64 machine which also runs gentoo. Since the Indigo2 is big endian, I figure it'd be wiser, since the sparc64 machine is also big endian. If anyone has any pointers, I'd be interested. I still have to pickup a SCSI floppy, CD-drive, and maybe a few harddrives for the Indigo2 though, before it's really usable.

--Kumba
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"The past tempts us, the present confuses us, the future frightens us. And our lives slip away, moment by moment, lost in that vast, terrible in-between."
--Emperor Turhan, Centauri Republic

[rac]

Rather than cross-compiling, what I would do is install Debian on the MIPS machine, and then work on getting Portage running in there. You might also want to check out some threads in the AltArch forum - I know there are at least two MIPS folks in there.
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[Kumba]