Re: directdisk images - replace the image type with a script?

[Richard Purdie <richard.purdie@linuxfoundation.org>]

On Wed, 2011-05-11 at 16:20 -0700, Darren Hart wrote:
> I recently discovered that the directdisk images are malformed:
> 
> http://bugzilla.pokylinux.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1028
> 
> While reviewing the directdisk recipe, I'm wondering if this image type
> has any real usage model. These are x86 specific. They partition a file
> image so when written to a real disk you get goofy partition tables
> (partitions do not end on cylinder boundaries).
> 
> The current recipes mangle the .cfg file (writing binary data over the
> text file - I'm guessing the dd commands do this).
> 
> We could patch this up, but is it worth it? All the other systems create
> ext3 images which are then installed on a disk per the instructions in
> the README.hardware document. The live image provides a simple
> dd-to-disk-and-boot solution. It seems to me the directdisk idea could
> be replaced with a script "mksyslinuximage.sh" or similar that took the
> image and kernel to use and the drive to partition, install syslinux on,
> and copy the filesystem to.
> 
> Thoughts?

We did get requests for that image type but I agree the implementation
is flawed. The trouble with the ext3 approach is that you depend on the
user having a script, syslinux installed, maybe knowing the location of
some syslinux files (vary by distro?), a set of tools, possibly a kernel
and that they get all the commands/parameters to the script right.

I strongly dislike the way its currently implemented since it should be
an image type, not a separate recipe (the same complaint applies to
-live images).

Since you've looked at it, is it possible to fix it or are there
variables that can only be determined when you know the final disk
geometry?

The trouble with -live images is that you have to write them somewhere
secondary to make them persistent or you hit the overhead of ramdisks.
Its a fairly ugly format and not what some end users want.

Cheers,

Richard