RE: Elks Distribution

[neil.holmes@zoom.co.uk]

Thanks for your email Dan.

I have made some comments on your points.

> Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's just because I am the 
only one using
> Slackware, but I'm used to booting off of floppy, getting a 
"login"
> prompt, logging in as root with no password, running 
fdisk, and then
> running setup from the root floppy.  I guess I don't see 
any reason to
> automate this process, it seems simple (printed 
instructions on the
> screen) and it lets you do more than just run though the 
install script
> if
> there are problems or whatever.  

I hear what you are saying and I certainly intend to leave a 
lot of this sort of flexibility available but if you check out the 
goal of the project - I am looking for a pretty well automated 
process. Believe it or not I have had concerns, still, that 
things are too complicated for certain people. I remain 
focused on my goal but with an eye to the sort of comments 
that you have made.

The setup is perty simple, you just
> step
> though a few menus and select your source, destination, 
keyboard,
> modem
> (if you want), etc.  Can such a thing be done for ELKS?  I 
suspect
> maybe
> curses or something is used for the menu system, don't 
know how much
> that
> hurts us.  

Alan had made some comments to me concerning the mini 
curses that is available to ELKS. I haven't followed this up 
yet but its in my todo list. I have also had comments that a 
shell script is more than sufficient. I may end up with a text 
or Curses install selection ?

Just a thought....it seems like if nothing else that would be
> a
> good starting point, and would avoid problems like what 
hard drive
> partition to use (as you're prompted).

The hard drive partition issue has three key problems that 
need to be addressed. The first is how I identify and retain 
control of the ELKS partition during the install process. 
Riley has made some very useful suggestions here. The 
second concerns the controlling of multi-boot. Javier and 
Pascal have made a very useful contribution here. The 
final issue is of producing the kernel to be installed which 
really relates specificallly to the point you make. The install 
set that I have at present will only install to /dev/bda1. The 
reason for that is that you have to actually build into the 
kernel the location of the system root. In email with Alan, 
yesterday, this was identified as an area where a change 
to core ELKS may be required. Namely to allow a 
configuration option outside of the kernel to indicate the 
location of root. Until this is achieved there are only 2 
options :-

1. To have part of the install set be run on linux to allow 
production of the required kernel.
2. To issue a distribution set that caters for every single 
possible root location.

Neither of those are really in the spirit of the goal of the 
project so I have a brick wall looming...... Unless the kernel 
experts can help ?

Many Thanks for your input Dan. I very much appreciate it.

Neil

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