It appears that you failed to read or perhaps comphrend Core Concepts. I will address your statements by quoting Core Concepts.
The boot option "restore=partition" (or "restore=partition/directory") tells Tiny Core where to find "mydata.tgz" archive.
"mydata.tgz" is the only name that can be used for the "backup" and "restore" archive.
All retained files and folders are contained in the "mydata.tgz" archive -- one cannot store data in independent, unarchived and uncompressed files and folders, unless one uses the "local=partition" and "home=partition" options (mentioned below).
For any data/files to be retained, the "restore=partition" boot option must be specified, AND the "backup" checkbox in the "shutdown" dialog must be checked.
The ".filetool.lst" and ".xfiletool.lst" files dictate which data/config files/folders are retained or deleted.
The ".filetool.lst" and ".xfiletool.lst" files reside within the "mydata.tgz" archive.
What you havw written is not correct. There is much more including autoscanning. Many boot codes are not required as explained below.
Backup/Restore
After setting up your new system, you will want to save your settings. There is a file called
/opt/.filetool.lst. It is a simple text file of files and directories listed one per line using a full path that the user wants to save/restore. Use any of the GUI tools provided on the Tools menu or any editors available via extensions or vi to change/update (e.g., select Beaver, then open /opt/.filetool.lst).
The default is to backup the entire home/tc directory. However, one can choose to selectively backup only certain files. However it is important to note that the entry /opt/.filetool.lst must NOT be removed from the .filetool.lst as this provides for persistence for the .filetool.lst itself.
Also note that the capability exists to exclude files from the backup with the file /opt/.xfiletool.lst. Adding entries to this file will exclude them from the backup. Cache and other files are in the default
/opt/.xfiletool.lst.
The backup will be written to a file called
"mydata.tgz". You can initially select the storage device by using the boot option of: restore=hdXY or after boot, by selecting "Backup/Restore" from the "Panel". Your backup will be automatically searched for and restored during subsequent booting. Once a mydata.tgz has been successfully created, the
boot option may be omitted. Autoscan, once again, is there to support "hands free" booting. And as before, always specifying the boot option speeds your boot time.
Additionally you may add a directory to the location of the backup, e.g., restore=hdXY/a_directory This will allow the backup file "mydata.tgz" to be placed in a directory.
Using a directory also means that you must always specify it via its boot code. You can skip using your backup with the boot option of norestore.
These options together with a local .xsession provide the user with much more control of their preferred environment. For example, by editing the .xsession you can start up your favorite X-Windows programs. You can start non-Window programs by editing the .profile and then adding it to your /opt/.filetool.lst. You can even load additional modules and system-specific required files by editing the /opt/bootlocal.sh file and then adding it to your filetool.lst.
The "tce=partition" (or "tce=partition/directory") option tells Tiny Core where to find the partition (and/or directory) that contains the extensions to be retained.
The name of the directory in "tce=partition/directory" is determined by the user.
The "tce=partition" (or "tce=partition/directory") option must be specified for Tiny Core to automatically retain extensions.
Not true. The boot code is not required as you have ignored autoscanning of 'tce' directory.
Once a PPR has been setup
via a one time only boot code of tce=hdXY all subsequent booting will load, install, or mount your PPR collection. Even this boot code can be dropped.
If no boot option specifying the tce location is used then the system will autoscan for the default "tce" directory. Recall, I mentioned that you can also specify the directory name. If you have chosen to use a different name via boot option, e.g., tce=hdXY/mystuff then you must continue to specify that boot code.
The system will only scan for the default "tce" directory. The auto-scan was designed to have a "hands free" boot from a read-only boot media, i.e., the downloaded tinycore.iso written to cdrom. However this is a benefit to always specifying your PPR location even when using the default tce. By specifying the location, the system does not have to autoscan. This saves time during booting.
The "local=partition" saves Tiny Core to the specified partition as a standard installation, to a directory that is automatically named "tclocal."
The "local=partition" can also save Tiny Core to a "loop back" file. (I am not sure how the name of this file is designated.)
A "local=partition/directory" option is not possible, since the only possible directory name for the "local=*" option is "tclocal."
The "home=partition" option does not work without a specified "local=partition" option.
Not true. home=partition is completely independent of local=partition. The name
"tclocal" is set to support autoscanning. tclocal is for tce PPI compatible extensions installed into /usr/local/ which is mount binded to tcloal a partion or a loop back file of the same name. It is a way to persist extensions without reloading them upon each boot, in other words a tce which is simply a tarball is extracted to /usr/local, and therefore does not to be extracted upon futher booting. It is best to not to mix tclocal with a tce=....
The "home=partition" option automatically creates a "/home/tc" directory that is somehow (and for some reason) linked to a mounted partition/directory named "/mnt/hdXY/tchome".
Well yes, otherwise /home is in ram, which would dictate that you must use backup/restore in order to save your dynamic files. Using home=partition mount bind home/tc to a real disk, i.e., not in ram. Perhaps resulting in less of a need to backup.
Tiny Core boots entirely into ram.
Tiny Core is about the separation of static data and dynamic data.
Tiny Core provides many levels of persistency.
Tiny Core supports much autoscanning to reduce or eliminate boot codes.
Tiny Core Extensions are static, ie., hopefully your compiled application programs are not changing. Therefore these static data elements are store separatly from dynamic data, i.e, your home directory.
Since Tiny Core boots entirely into ram, we store our collection of extensions, in a directory which upon boot each extensions is extracted into ram (tce) or mounted and symlinked into ram (tcz)
Since /home is also in ram, and that data is dynamic, we offer the backup/restore options.
Never store extensions in your home directory. It will cause unneeded and unnecessary backup of static data.
Some users like to have persistentcy. These options are not required to use Tiny Core.
home=partition will 'move' /home/tc from ram to a real disk partition.
opt=partition will 'move' /opt form ram to real disk partition.
local=partition will 'move' /usr/local from ram to a real disk partition or a loop back file.