Tiny Core Base > TCB Tips & Tricks

Overlay initrd files using cat

(1/17) > >>

btheado:
I stumbled across http://lxr.linux.no/linux+v2.6.37/Documentation/early-userspace/buffer-format.txt and discovered the initramfs buffer format supports multiple gzipped cpio archive files concatenated together.

This means a gzipped cpio archive can be 'overlaid' on top of another archive using nothing more than 'cat'.  The alternative to using cat is to use gunzip, cpio, gzip and requires sudo to preserve the file permissions.

So tinycore.gz could be constructed from microcore.gz and the .gz files at http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/tinycorelinux/3.x/release/microcore/ like this:

--- Code: ---cat microcore.gz Xlibs.gz Xprogs.gz Xvesa.gz > tinycore.gz
--- End code ---

Maybe that is already the way tinycore.gz is created--I don't know.  I just tried it and  I either did something wrong or there is some other difference in tinycore.gz because it booted into X but there was no wbar and mouseclicks on the background didn't produce a menu.

I use this method to maintain an alternate version of tinycore.gz usable with colinux.  As described at http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php?topic=7348, I needed the kernel modules that match the colinux kernel and I needed a small patch to /usr/sbin/rebuildfstab in order to load extensions from colinux cobd devices.

I used sudo+cpio+gzip to create colinux-modules.gz containing the kernel modules and rebuildfstab patch.  Now that I have that file, I can upgrade to new versions of tinycore using just 'cat' (assuming my rebuildfstab patch doesn't interfere with any future tinycore changes).

A small convenience, but I find it useful.

roberts:
You are missing a window manager and icons, flwm_topside and wbar both which are currently extensions, although could be made into cpio .gzs.

roberts:
I quite like this concept as currently flwm.tcz, flwm_topside.tcz, and wbar.tcz are really pseduo extensions as they do not install to /usr/local. They really are core compenents of Tiny Core and their use is really only viable via Micro Core.

By moving them to .gzs not only is the advantage of quick and easy tinycore.gz creation but more importantly all of Micro Core compenents will be archived together. See: http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/tinycorelinux/3.x/archive/?C=M;O=A

As it is now, by being extensions, only the latest version is available in the repository which might cause issues with prior versions of Micro Core, i.e., a mismatched set of compenents.

Of course there is absolutely no impact to Tiny Core users.

Look for this change in v3.5 of Micro Core.

gerald_clark:
Your previous post had me thinking too.

Actually, you would not need two distributions.

Tiny Core / Micro Core CD can simply be a boot option.

A nogz boot option could suppress loading of the included gz files from the CD.
Then you could include a boot menu on the CD that allows you choose TC or MC.

When creating a persistent tce directory, the user can include the X*.gz if desired,
and use or not use the nogz boot option.
They can still select Xvesa vs Xorg, and the window manager of choice.

tinypoodle:

--- Quote from: roberts on January 09, 2011, 06:47:47 PM ---Of course there is absolutely no impact to Tiny Core users.

--- End quote ---

Not sure if I entirely understood.
Is the case of Tiny Core users which would currently prefer to make use of flwm (as opposed to flwm_topside) included?

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page