Exclusive features of TC !

[Pats]

Our group is currently discussing the exclusive features of TC compared to other Linux Distros !
Apart from TCs small foot-print , can anyone tell - what are other exclusive specialities in TC - which are NOT available in other Linuxes ?

~ Pats

[curaga]

I doubt anything is 100% exclusive, but many things are pretty rare elsewhere.

- initramfs is the OS. Most toram linuxes use a two-step boot: DSL, Knoppix, Puppy. They boot a small initrd that searches for the main data. IIRC Slitaz does it like we do.
Thanks to this we can boot from just about anything, no need for the kernel to support reading the media. Weird setups as well as new hw benefit from this.
- extensions, instead of installed packages. The concept of a pristine boot.
- customizability. Nimblex is somewhat similar, but doesn't go as deep in the possibilities.
- being a "busybox distro".
- Xvesa is not used much elsewhere.

[bmarkus]

NimbleX in fact was a SLAX clone, so better to mentione SLAX. Its moduls are very similar to TC extensions with significant differences, for example SLAX is lacking dependency handling.

[curaga]

I was mainly thinking of Nimblex's web creator, but yes, Slax has similarities too.

[Pats]

- extensions, instead of installed packages. The concept of a pristine boot.

Is there significant diff in exts of TC and packages of others ? Both can be built from sources and can be updated/built by the users - thats what I assume - I may be terribly mistaken - off-cource !

Does All the Live Distros like Knoppix et el diifer from TC as far as - pristine boot concept is concerned ? I am confused - really !

- - customizability. Nimblex is somewhat similar, but doesn't go as deep in the possibilities.

You mean source/package customization or the basic sytem customization - for example ?

- - being a "busybox distro".
- Xvesa is not used much elsewhere.

What exactly you mean by - a "busybox distro" ?

Above are just dumb Qs with my incomplete IQ abt Linux as whole -  I am NOT crossing your points refered above.

NimbleX in fact was a SLAX clone, so better to mentione SLAX. Its moduls are very similar to TC extensions with significant differences, for example SLAX is lacking dependency handling.

This is some-what new refresher for me ! Thnks !

~ Pats

[curaga]

- extensions, instead of installed packages. The concept of a pristine boot.

Is there significant diff in exts of TC and packages of others ? Both can be built from sources and can be updated/built by the users - thats what I assume - I may be terribly mistaken - off-cource !

Does All the Live Distros like Knoppix et el diifer from TC as far as - pristine boot concept is concerned ? I am confused - really !

Yeah, both are built the same way, and can be done by users. The difference is in the install.

A typical live distro does have a pristine boot, but the user often can't extend that. Or if you can, it is no longer pristine. There are exceptions of course.

IIRC one cannot permanently install a new package in Knoppix; it stays only for the session. In Puppy I think they are installed, as in extracted similar to the common packages, but the whole thing is kept inside a file. Similar to our PPI in some ways.

- - customizability. Nimblex is somewhat similar, but doesn't go as deep in the possibilities.

You mean source/package customization or the basic sytem customization - for example ?

I mean the ability to choose what goes in and what doesn't in your custom distro. As an actual target, an easy / supported method.

- - being a "busybox distro".
- Xvesa is not used much elsewhere.

What exactly you mean by - a "busybox distro" ?

AFAIK we are the only desktop distro that uses busybox to this extent. The others that have it use a lot of the GNU utils instead.

[^thehatsrule^]

A difference is that TC brings some of what I think are traditionally embedded things to the regular "destop" environment.

[Guy]

It is very easy, if you take the time to learn, to set up Tiny Core just how you want it. Most other operating systems cannot be modified as much, as easily.

The frugal installation has already been mentioned. With regularly installed operating systems, as time goes by, files may become corrupted, and they will not work properly, or even work at all. This tends to happen much quicker if people use them who just click on anything, for example children, or people who understand little about computers. With Tiny Core the operating system and applications don't become corrupted, so it works the same every time. (You can mess up personal settings. This can be rectified by deleting them.)

On Demand enables a large amount of programs to be installed, but they don't use computer resources, such as RAM, unless you start them. This means Tiny Core can run on a computer with less ram.

When installed on a hard drive or usb drive, it can be transferred to another computer, and work. When most other operating systems are installed, they cannot be transferred to another computer, without reinstalling them. (There are a few others which can be.)

[Pats]

<quote>
AFAIK we are the only desktop distro that uses busybox to this extent. The others that have it use a lot of the GNU utils instead.
</quote>

I read some-where that Busybox has become the de facto standard for embedded Linux devices and Linux distribution installers (which is designed to be a small executable for use with the Linux kernel ). :

1) buildroot (A configurable means for building your own busybox/uClibc based system)
2) OpenWrt ( A Linux distribution for embedded devices, based on buildroot )
3) PTXdist ( Another configurable means for building your own busybox based systems )

And so many others like: Deb-installer (boot floppies) , RH-installer, SlackInstaller ,Gentoo boot , Mandriva-installer are on the fore-front in this direction.

By the way, here is an interesting read abt Building Tiny Linux Systems with Busybox:
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/4395

and abt Google's busybox replacement, toolbox:
http://www.saurik.com/id/10

<quote>
A difference is that TC brings some of what I think are traditionally embedded things to the regular "destop" environment.
</quote>

Yah , previously embeded tech was mostly used special  space technology - in numerous missions like the Mars Rovers and Deep Impact. In that context your this point is worth mentioning !

<quote>
It is very easy, if you take the time to learn, to set up Tiny Core just how you want it. Most other operating systems cannot be modified as much, as easily.</quote>

Is Slitaz and likes, exceptions ?

<quote>
The frugal installation has already been mentioned.
....
 With Tiny Core the operating system and applications don't become corrupted, so it works the same every time. (You can mess up personal settings. This can be rectified by deleting them.)</quote>

Is it again the same as Live Distro`s shutdown & forget the corruptin concept ?

<quote>
On Demand enables a large amount of programs to be installed, but they don't use computer resources, such as RAM, unless you start them. This means Tiny Core can run on a computer with less ram.</quote>

Does this apply to all loop mounted linuxes ?

Are we missing some more exclusivities of TC  here ?

Now the opposite points(if any ) - we know, exception proves the rule

In which type of H/W - on the lower(minimal set ) and upper (latest and resource hungry set), TC can not be used ?

In which OS`s company ( resource sharing) , TC give hiccups or create problems ?

Are there any issues (solvable thru some work-around ) and un-solvable ones - in MC / TC ( specially while using X ) ?

~ Pats

[Guy]

With Tiny Core the operating system and applications don't become corrupted, so it works the same every time.

Is it again the same as Live Distro`s shutdown & forget the corruptin concept?

If you run from a live CD, the files on the CD cannot become corrupted.

However, it is not straightforward to add or remove programs from the CD. You need to make a modified CD. With Tiny Core you can easily install additional programs, or remove programs.

Most live CDs do not give you the ability to save personal settings (Puppy is an exception). With Tiny Core you can save personal settings.

On Demand enables a large amount of programs to be installed, but they don't use computer resources, such as RAM, unless you start them. This means Tiny Core can run on a computer with less ram.

Does this apply to all loop mounted linuxes?

No

Are we missing some more exclusivities of TC here?

Quick boot time, particularly if you use On Demand. Depending what type of computer you use and which other distros you are comparing it to.

Another thing is the easy to set up, effective, firewall. All Linux distros have firewalls, but Tiny Core's is unique.

[bmarkus]

Another thing is the easy to set up, effective, firewall. All Linux distros have firewalls, but Tiny Core's is unique.

Guy, would you explain it?

[Guy]

http://wiki.tinycorelinux.com/tiki-index.php?page=Firewall

[bmarkus]

http://wiki.tinycorelinux.com/tiki-index.php?page=Firewall

You must install iptables.tcz to have it. It is not an exclusive feature, nearly all distributions offer firewall either built-in or installable based on iptables.

IMHO a firewall is completely unnecessary in most of the TC/MC applications as simply you do not have any services running and no open ports by default. When you are adding networking services, you must configure your security environment, not only firewall. Good example is SSH daemon, but same for an ftp server.

So forget basic firewall. It is dangerous in term that one can think system is safe just because he installed a firewall