tinycore_v3.8rc2

[roberts]

The Second Release Candidate of Tiny Core v3.8 is now posted and ready for testing.
http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/tinycorelinux/3.x/release_candidates

tinycore_3.8rc2.iso
tinycore_3.8rc2.iso.md5.txt

Change log:
rc1
* New icons for AppBrowser and AppsAudit.
* Updated mnttool - added a refresh button.
* Updated AppsBrowser - clear Search&Provides field upon results.
* Updated Wallpaper - Improved GUI. Now with a single window.
* Updated AppsAudit - updated error reporting and now reports stale extensions.
* Updated tce-load - now allows re-downloading non-installed extensions to better handle download failures.
* Updated tce-setup & tce-load to ensure busybox calls thus avoiding conflicts with gnu utilities.
* Updated rc.shutdown - removed sleep to improve shutdown speed.

rc2
* Updated AppsAudit - md5 function slowness corrected.
* Updated wbarconf - support for no initial .wbar
* Updated busybox  -  1.18.5 new depmod applet and audit of required applets.
* Updated search.sh  - improved searching by title results and support for fat file-system.
* Updated provides.sh  - support for fat file-system.
* Updated tce-setup, tce-load, and loadpack.sh - alias for new depmod applet.
* Updated .profile - new user login sudo issue resolved.
* Removed remnant .wbar from /etc/skel
* Updated AppBrowser & AppsAudit icons - slightly larger

Note: depmod has been moved to extensions, gnu depmod may be required by certain extensions, e.g., alsa.

[netnomad]

hi roberts,

the md5sum-check is now just like a dream again! good job!
now i have only the problem to restore my backup.
3.8rc1 worked just fine for me, but in 3.8rc2 my encrypted backup isn't restored anymore.
the error message in red letters disappears so fast that i can't read it...

this is the entry of my multibootiso-config

title MicroCore testing
find --set-root /microcore-testing.iso
map /microcore-testing.iso (hd32) || map --mem /testing-testing.iso (hd32)
map --hook
kernel (hd32)/boot/bzImage waitusb=5 protect restore=LABEL=tc laptop mydata=mc-test multivt
initrd (hd32)/boot/microcore.gz
boot

thank you for your help!

[roberts]

Fixed encrypted restore. Reposted rc2.

[netnomad]

now it restores just fine... thank you!

[maro]

Robert, as I can see that BusyBox got rebuild I wonder whether this suggestion (i.e. to include the 'stat' applet) was considered and revoked or has it just "fallen through the cracks"?

Furthermore I'd like to pause for a moment to lament the removal of 'uuencode' / 'uudecode' from the Core. Those might be rather ancient tools in the eyes of many who have not known the limitations of 7-bit ASCII emails (e.g. in the early 1990). I for one can still see their use in allowing the inclusion of binary blobs (e.g. icon files) in scripts to build an extension. True, those tools live on in the 'shareutils.tcz' extension, but until now one could rely on the fact that they were there right "out of the box".

[roberts]

Maro, busybox was scheduled to be rebuilt at 1.19. However, the team brought up the topic of slimming busybox. With the premise that if an applet is not required by the base then it should be considered for removal. Thus an audit occurred and several unused applets were removed. This was a team decision. This is consistent with the philosophy of Core. If you wish to add/remove other applets then it should be discussed for team consideration. Perhaps some of the team will share their thoughts on this matter and the resulting decision.

[danielibarnes]

until now one could rely on the fact that they were there right "out of the box".

I felt the same way about dropbear. I really missed it, but I understand that the core needs to be true to itself. Remastering it back in as an extension was trivial, anyway. Is there a detailed list of busybox applets which were removed and which extensions include the replacements?

[roberts]

This was the result from the audit.
The new binary is about 11K smaller with these applets disabled:
-dhcprelay
-dnsd
-fakeidentd
-telnetd
-pscan
-uudecode
-uuencode
-zcip

I am mainly focused on Core custom so not big on extensions,  perhaps Brian or other team members will chime in for replacements.

[ixbrian]

Hi Maro,
Regarding 'stat', my personal opinion is that it would be useful to have included in Core because in my opinion it is a standard/essential UNIX command.  

Regarding 'uuencode' / 'uudecode', they were flagged as a possible candidate for removal because they are not used anywhere in the base system.  I totally agree with you that these commands can be useful and I have used them myself, however in my opinion they are not essential UNIX commands and therefore should be available via an extension rather than in base.  For example, Ubuntu 11.04 does not include uuencode or uudecode in the default install.  

Regarding Extension replacements for the removed BusyBox applets:

-dhcprelay - This relays DHCP requests between other computers on the local subnet to a DHCP server on a different subnet.  There isn't an extension I am aware of that provides this.  If there are people who need this functionality I would be happy to create an extension of a build of BusyBox that includes just this applet.  

-dnsd - DNS server, see bind.tcz

-fakeidentd - Probably not used by anyone.  Again, if there is a demand for this I would be happy to create a 1 applet BusyBox extension that provides this.  

-telnetd - Telnet server, see inetutils-servers.tcz

-pscan - port scanner, see nmap.tcz

-uudecode/uuencode - See sharutils.tcz

-zcip - Zero config IP setup.   Probably not used by anyone.  I could create an extension if needed.  

I would be more than happy to create a new extension that contains just a single BusyBox applet if these commands are needed by anyone.   See busybox-httpd.tcz as an example of where a single BusyBox applet was turned in to an extension.  

Thanks,
Brian

[Lee]

I would be more than happy to create a new extension that contains just a single BusyBox applet if these commands are needed by anyone.

I haven't done a lot of compiling of -anything- lately and I haven't actually -looked- at the busybox sources, but it seems to me that:

- the busy box source code must include an enormous amount of useful stuff
- busybox, as compiled for tc base, prunes out much of that to stay lean
- what's included in a busybox build is controlled by a fairly simple config list
- busybox behaves differently based upon the name by which it is invoked but it doesn't much matter what the busybox file is named - could be busybox or mybusybox or busyboxplus.

Would it be feasible to put together a busybox-dev.tcz with all the sources ready to compile so all the user has to do is tweak the config to include the desired additional applets and compile "mybusybox" to be packaged up as a personal extension.

Or is not quite that easy?  I can see how such might not be for the average noob if there's rocket science involved.

[curaga]

Lee, what you're describing is almost what the busybox source tarball is

make menuconfig && make && make install

[gerald_clark]

Perhaps a complete busybox initrd would be preferable.
It would completely replace the one in base, and there would not be two copys present.

[Lee]

@ curaga: You make it sound so easy that now I have to go play with it some.  

@ gerald_clark: I started down that path in my previous post then backed out that part because I always lean toward keeping the base intact - just a personal pref.

(an hour passes)

OK.  That -was- easy.  Read README and INSTALL from the busybox source tarball.  Loaded up compiletc.  Built busybox with just uuencode and uudecode (and a few others that looked interesting).

edit: corrected typo. 20110718 2146

[ixbrian]

Perhaps a complete busybox initrd would be preferable.
It would completely replace the one in base, and there would not be two copys present.

By complete busybox initrd, do you mean an extension?   If so, it probably would not be a good idea to have an extension (full BusyBox) replace functionality (BusyBox) in Core.   In my opinion this would be a recipe for problems down the road (for example if the extension BusyBox version, options, etc. where ever out of sync with the Core BusyBox)

Brian

[floppy]

rc1
...
* Updated mnttool - added a refresh button.
...

My feedback:
- Refresh button: very good
- A bit disturbing: after boot, the mntool window is top right. By clicking "refresh", it jumps top left (over my conky window).