[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: [debian-knoppix] ash-knoppix outdated?



On Tue, Jun 24, 2003 at 10:20:28AM +0200, Klaus Knopper wrote:

> On Tue, Jun 24, 2003 at 05:13:40AM +0200, Lionel Elie Mamane wrote:

>> ash-knoppix is quite outdated. Please consider replacing it with
>> Debian's dash.

> Can you GUARANTEE that

> - dash is smaller or exactly equal in size when statically linked,

> - contains a builtin insmod/rmmod, cat and mount/umount that works with
>   the Knoppix /linuxrc

I can't guarantee right now, but I can check these points. Here's the
data I have right now:

 - Debian's ash is 75736 bytes, _dynamically_ linked.

 - mount/umount incompatibility is one of the issues :-( Specifically,
   Knoppix's ash mount has an implicit "-n" (when compared to the
   usual mount), and won't take a "-n" as a valid parameter. Dash's
   mount behaves like the usual mount in this regard.

   Hmm... The situation looks worse than I thought. My initrd contains
   a "mount" executable. I should check if Debian's scripts put it
   there, or if my scripts (erroneously) put it there.

In fact, to solve the problem I was referring to, you don't need to
replace knoppix-ash by dash. All you need is having dash installed on
a Knoppix-installed-on-HD system. This would cost 106KB of "cheap"
(non-initrd, but normal system) space.

>> The specific problem that leads me to make this request is that
>> ash-knoppix is unable to execute the "linuxrc" of Debian's mkinitrd,
>> leading to non-bootability of (newer, initrd-using) Debian kernels on
>> a Knoppix system (installed to HD). Specifically, trapping SIGUSR1
>> doesn't work, mount doesn't take -n and the "for i;" construct is not
>> supported.

> It's rather a Debian problem than a Knoppix problem, right?

It is neither a Debian, nor a Knoppix problem. Both systems work fine
in isolation. It is a Debian-as-upgrade-path-from-Knoppix-on-HD
problem. Maybe this is not the intention of the Knoppix development
team, but this path is heavily advertised, including in
"beginners-level" paper publications.

> dash is included on Knoppix. So, if you need to make a Debian
> initrd, you should probably use dash instead of ash-knoppix.

Err... There, you catch me. I'm reading Debian's mkinitrd script, and
it uses /bin/dash, and falls back to /bin/ash only if /bin/dash
doesn't exist. Is dash installed as /bin/dash on Knoppix?

> I used ash because it is small enough to fit on the el torito
> bootfloppy together with the Kernel and some SCSI modules.

(dash is a fork of ash, AFAIK)

-- 
Lionel

Attachment: pgpsrpIeXW0lJ.pgp
Description: PGP signature


Reply to: