Gentoo Archives: gentoo-dev

From: vprada@××××××××××.ve
To: gentoo-core@g.o
Cc: gentoo-dev@g.o
Subject: [gentoo-dev] Gentoo Installer (2) [LARGE]
Date: Sat, 01 Jun 2002 23:33:11
Message-Id: 1022992388.8152@corvus.com.ve
1 Hello everybody
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3 As i'd told you in a past e-mail i'd made a first test to install Gentoo using a modified version of the Red Hat's installer.
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5 By the moment what i'd did was this:
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7 1.- i was looking for a "fast" way to get an installer soon, with no too much programming or modifications, so i get all the ebuilds needed to make a gentoo base system.
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9 2.- After this i'd made a set of rpms packages of this ebuilds (ebuild X.ebuild rpm)
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11 3.- Then and did create an archive named comps, this is the archive used by anaconda to know which packages install. In this archive is written the list of packages used to make a base gentoo system.
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13 4.- Anaconda will detect the hardware in the machine, make disk partitions, create users, configure the root password, the boot loader, timezone, keyboard layout, etc... after that the installe gather all this information it will install the packages listed in the comps archive.
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16 5.- once that the installer install everythin i'd wrote the post-isntall procedure (this post-install procedure is written in python). In this post-install procedure i did take the information gathered by anaconda and i modify the gentoo configuration files (by example, in red hat the network configuration files are located in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts, with gentoo is in /etc/env.d/net)
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18 6.- After this i get Gentoo running and able to make an emerge rsync, and then emerge any additional package.
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20 - What i want that the installer do?
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22 As i told you this was my first approach. I think that we need a fast way to multiply the number of "non-technical" users that can use Gentoo, and this was the fastest way that i did find.
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24 The next steps will be to modify the python routines in Anaconda so we will don't need to make the base system rpms (what i mean with this is that the installer use emerge to install everything)
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26 I want to modify the configuration routines in Anaconda (by example, network configuration routine will modified the /etc/env.d/net file and not the /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts)
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28 With Anaconda we have 2 kinds of installation, Text and GUI Based. The bash prompt is an option but is available. Anaconda will always try first to make a GUI installation, if the video hardware detection fails Anaconda will try Text Installation, and if the Text installation fails Anaconda will abort. We have to modified this and if everything fails the user will always have the bash prompt to install everything manually.
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30 I think that for some users the installer will make them feel that they don't have the control of the installation, and this is why they choose Gentoo ( in Fact i'd enjoy a lot take a machine a make partitions, configuration and everything mannualy), but for some other users the installer (this first one, and the incoming one) will make a lot easier install Gentoo linux.
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32 I will need all your advices, colaboration and expertise to complete all the goals that i have with this project. The next week i will make an iso image of the anaconda installer, and i will upload the anaconda source code to the cvs with the modifications that i did.
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34 Thanks all
35 Víctor PRada

Replies

Subject Author
Re: [gentoo-dev] Gentoo Installer (2) [LARGE] foser <foser@×××××××××.org>
Re: [gentoo-dev] Gentoo Installer (2) [LARGE] Simonics Zsolt <simc@××××××.hu>