Explain how app. extensions work?

[SunBurnt]

The Squash files that are app. extensions are mounted in: /tmp/tcloop

Are they accessed and run through their mount points? No copying and no links?
The apps. config. files need to be allowed to be writable some how of course.

Or are the app. extensions merged with the base file system with masses of links?
This seems to be what hiro told me in another thread. Or maybe another way?

I thought I understood this, but now I`m not so sure...

[Rich]

Hi SunBurnt

The Squash files that are app. extensions are mounted in: /tmp/tcloop

Are they accessed and run through their mount points? No copying and no links?

You can access them through their mount points. I don't recall the mechanics of how they are run.
I have seen an explanation of how they are run on the forum, you can search for it but you may be
hard pressed to find it.

The apps. config. files need to be allowed to be writable some how of course.

Config files can wind up under /home, /usr, /etc, and possibly other places. Samba puts it's config
files under  /usr/local/etc/samba. You add that path to your  /opt/.filetool.lst  file so that those settings
get saved when you run the back up utility before shutting down.

[SunBurnt]

Thanks Rich, I guess I`ll have to run TC and see if I can figure it out.
If there`s masses of links for all the files in the extension file it`ll be obvious.

Yeah, Linux apps. are allowed to scatter their config. files all over the place.
Even thought Linux provides specific places for them: /etc, /usr/etc, /usr/local/etc

I thought I understood this. I`ll let you know what I find out... Terry

[SunBurnt]

Yep... I understood hiro correctly. Masses of links to access the extension file.
I looked at the Firefox dir. and it`s all dirs. and links, over a thousand of them!

Accessing the Squash files directly is a far better way of doing this!
In my opinion this amounts to being a "brute force method" of getting it done.

Tiny Core isn`t nearly as advanced as I thought it was. But it`s still a good OS.
It does use Squash files for a package format, that in itself is a vast improvement.

[SunBurnt]

Testing TC for statistics... At start /usr/local has 11 folders and files.
After installing Firefox, Mplayer, Xfe it has added over 2400 folders and links!

Probably the extension file itself is used to find the dirs. and links to remove them.
That way no tracking`s needed, just code to make links, and find and delete them.

[hiro]

Well, you're right: tc is not rocket science.
But have a look for yourself: editor `which tce-load`
The "code to make links" is in there. There is none for deletion, because out of simplicity we say you can just as well reboot.

You should be aware that most extensions reside in multiple folders like /usr/local/etc + /usr/local/bin + /usr/local/share.
Because of this we can't just mount to /usr/local, this is without something like unionfs.

[SunBurnt]

Ahhh, so the links are made every time TC boots for the persistent apps.?

What then is the reason for the shut-down slow down when you add apps.?

[maro]

A slow TC shutdown is likely caused by many and / or big files in the backup (typically of those in the '/home' directory). A quick overview is provided when via the 'bigHomeFiles' tab of the stats tool.

[SunBurnt]

Hi maro; TC should only have links and config. files added to it`s dir. tree. Correct?

The apps. in the extension files have to write to their config. files.