Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 10:41:02 -0300 (BRT) From: Jean Milanez Melo <jmelo@FreeBSDBrasil.COM.BR> To: "Chad R. Larson" <chad@DCFinc.com> Cc: small@freebsd.org Subject: Re: FreeBSD embedded: TinyBSD Message-ID: <20040719104018.R735@offset.freebsdbrasil.com.br>
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On Fri, 16 Jul 2004, Chad R. Larson wrote: > Did you guys look at the m0n0BSD project? It seems to cover most of > your objections. > > http://www.m0n0.ch/bsd/ > Yes, its a good project, but they dont have build scripts and end-user helping tools such dialog-based menus. We would like that the interested parties make tests and then report bug, sends sugestions to improve the TinyBSD. See our TODO list for future versions: o CREATE TINYBSD DEFAULT CONF HIERARCHY Doing cat >> ${WORKDIR}/etc/rc.conf << EORCCONF is not a good thing, 'cos many users may wish to pre-configure a lot of other files (say, resolv.conf, hosts, usr/local/etc/dhcpd.conf, etc), so we should make tinybsd.sh look for some default configuration paths, if files exists there, overwrite/create it instead of using the default (created on tinybsd build) This should be similar to picobsd floppy.tree, but we won't have the floppy.tree / mfs_tree distinction needed. Also, for tinybsd we are not sure (opinions' welcome) if it should be *only* a conf tree hierarchy (say, only valid for files in etc/ and usr/local/etc) or a complete hierarchy replacement (everything under this directory will be replaced/placed on ${WORKDIR}/according to the path) o DISTINCT MANY PRE-CONFIGURED TINYBSD SYSTEMS Make a /usr/src/release/tinybsd/conf directory, where everthing there must be other directories where pre-configure tiny beastie systems will be held. All files required by tinybsd.sh should be there, in such a way tinybsd.sh finds it according to the pre-configured system. Say, we might have (usually under /usr/src/release/): tinybsd/conf/default-system tinybsd/conf/default-system/TINYBSD tinybsd/conf/default-system/tinybsd.basefiles tinybsd/conf/wireless-router tinybsd/conf/wireless-router/TINYBSD tinybsd/conf/wireless-router/tinybsd.basefiles At a first level, tinybsd/tinybsd.sh should build tinybsd/conf/default-system as its default behavior. Optionally the user may issue a sixth argumento to tinybsd.sh where $6 will be the desired pre-configured system (not the entire path). o MAKE TINYBSD A DIALOG(1) SCRIPT I feel unsure if it is a good idea. At first look, it is interesting and specially easy for newcomers, but when you start to customize the system a lot different from what the initial script builds, dialog just sux. See most LiveCD scripts (FUG-BR's livecd and GUFI's freesbie), and specially the lessons learn from picobsd. Hardly any long-time picobsd user runs it in dialog mode (picobsd -n -v switchs are just cool!). I would not like to make tinybsd.sh able to run in dialog interactive mode and also non-interactive mode (just like picobsd's -n). I think tiny beastie should be only one thing! A dialog script, or a command-line shell script. The good thing on dialog is that the tinybsd/conf/ idea would be easier. This tool could scan tinybsd/conf/ for directories containing all required files and allow the user to choose what to build from a dialog(1) menu. This issue will be kept open until good discussions get had. o ADD DEBUGGING MODE I really like picobsd's "-v -v" behavior. Step-by-step routines with good verbosy log messages are cool for debugging. Maybe it should be done even before the dialog(1) decision. - Jean Milanez Melo
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