path: root/docs/README

Well here is a little description of what DrakX needs to work in comparison
to the standard newt install.

********************************************************************************
* CVS **************************************************************************
********************************************************************************
Like all good free software, DrakX is in CVS :)

You can access it using:
% export CVSROOT=:pserver:anoncvs@linux-mandrake.com:/home/cvs/cooker
% cvs login
% Passwd: cvs
% cvs checkout gi

This is only read-only access. If you want more, tell me (pixel@mandrakesoft.com)

Alas, all is not in CVS as a lot of things are binary files.
For the other things, take cooker-contrib others/src/gi.tar.bz2

Please note that redoing *all* the stuff is not for the faint of heart. I myself
sometimes wonder what the whole make does :-%
Instead, changing some .pm files is quite easy (nice interpreted language)

********************************************************************************
* Making your custom install cdrom *********************************************
********************************************************************************
If you have your own rpms you want to add, or make your own updated cdrom, you
just have to update:
- Mandrake/base/hdlist: use ``misc/genhdlist .''
- Mandrake/base/depslist: use ``misc/gendepslist -h Mandrake/base/depslist Mandrake/base/hdlist''

Optionnally, you can modify Mandrake/base/compss, compssList and compssUsers.
Also, mdkinst_stage2.gz must be remade if you modify files in Mandrake/mdkinst.
See below for information about these files.

********************************************************************************
* FILES ************************************************************************
********************************************************************************
First he are the different things needed :

Mandrake/base/hdlist
	table of rpm's headers. 
	! Need to be remade when Mandrake/RPMS changes (with ``misc/genhdlist .'') !

Mandrake/base/depslist
	for each packages, tell which package it depends on. Also contains the
	size for some (obscure) bloody reasons.
	! Need to be remade when Mandrake/RPMS changes !
	(with ``misc/gendepslist -h Mandrake/base/depslist Mandrake/base/hdlist'') 

Mandrake/base/compss
	obsoletes comps. It store packages in different categories, a bit like
	the %{GROUP} field

Mandrake/base/compssUsers
	obsoletes comps. It contains the different user classes like ``Graphics
	Manipulation'' and ``Games''

Mandrake/base/compssList
	for each packages, it gives the appreciation for each type of user.
	used to choose packages
	(see beginning of perl-install/pkgs.pm for more)

Mandrake/mdkinst
	live system used on certain installs. See ``Ramdisk or not'' below for
	more.

Mandrake/base/mdkinst_stage2.gz
	for the ramdisk. live sytem in ext2 filesystem gzipped.
	generated from Mandrake/mdkinst tree using misc/make_mdkinst_stage2
	See ``Ramdisk or not'' below for more.

images/*.img
	boot images to use with DrakX. Use:
	- hd for hard-disk install
	- cdrom for cdrom install
	- network for ftp/nfs install
	- pcmcia for pcmcia install (see ``PCMCIA install'' below for more)


Some optional files :

Mandrake/base/depslist.html
	html formatted depslist

********************************************************************************
* logs *************************************************************************
********************************************************************************
During install, a lot of interesting stuff can be found in different places:
in consoles and in files. To switch to console 2 for example, do Ctrl-Alt-F2
from the X install.
- alt-F1: the stdout of the install. Not very interesting stuff
- alt-F2: simple shell. Quite a lot of commands are available but as they are
written in perl (for space), they do not handle the very same options as normal.
After install, you can do ``chroot /mnt'' to see your system just like after
rebooting. ``rpm -qa'' works for example.
- alt-F3: a lot of interesting things. Be carefull, some ``ERROR'' messages are
not interesting.
- alt-F4: kernel's place. aka the output of dmesg.
- alt-F5: the graphical install lives there (may switch to console 7 one day :)
- alt-F7: the output of commands (like lilo or mke2fs).

- /tmp/ddebug.log: same (or nearly the same) as alt-F3
- /tmp/syslog: same as alt-F4
- /mnt/root/ddebug.log: at the end of each step, DrakX tries to backup
/tmp/ddebug.log to /mnt/root. Available only after mounting of /.
- /mnt/root/install.log: the log of the installation (or upgrade) of the rpms
(just like rpm's /mnt/tmp/(install|upgrade).log)
- /mnt/root/auto_inst.cfg.pl: a kickstart file generated at the end of each
step. Can be used in 2 ways: kickstart install or ``defcfg'' install. Hopefully
you know about kickstart. ``defcfg'' is a way to customize the default values in
install. For example, French can be the default language with a qwerty keyboard,
the auto-partitionning partitions can be changed, the default user class can be
set to developer (!)...

********************************************************************************
* po translation files *********************************************************
********************************************************************************
DrakX uses .po files for its translation. A script takes the different
strings out of the .pm files. It generates the DrakX.pot file which contains
all the english strings to translate.
To add a new language, you just have to add it to lang.pm (if it's not there
already) and put the .po in the perl-install/po directory (see ``Ramdisk or
not'' to know if you have to regenerate the mdkinst_stage2.gz)

********************************************************************************
* PCMCIA install ***************************************************************
********************************************************************************
If the media you use to install is a pcmcia device, you have two choices:
- use the pcmcia boot disk
- use another boot disk and it will ask you a supplementary disk. Give it the
pcmcia disk.


********************************************************************************
* Ramdisk or not ***************************************************************
********************************************************************************
The DrakX install is much bigger than the newt one. So the ramdisk which was
used is getting big, and costs a lot in memory 
(eg: the mdkinst_stage2 is 14MB - 23/09/99)

|       | newt    | DrakX
|-------+---------+----------------------------------------------------------
| nfs   | live    | live
| ftp   | ramdisk | ramdisk
| http  | ramdisk | ramdisk
| hd    | ramdisk | live if Mandrake/mdkinst/usr/bin/runinstall2 is a link,
|       |         |   ramdisk otherwise
| cdrom | ramdisk | live if memory < 40MB, ramdisk otherwise

When i say live, it means that the install1 stage will *mount* the
Mandrake/mdkinst and use it that way.

The ramdisk is used in place of the live in some cases. This ramdisk is filled
with mdkinst_stage2.gz

For cdrom install, the ramdisk is used to speed up things (access time is quite
high on cdrom drives)

For pcmcia, it depends on the type of install.


********************************************************************************
* modules **********************************************************************
********************************************************************************
Modules can be found in at least 3 places:
- in /modules/modules.cgz
- in /lib/modules/
- in /lib/modules/modules.cpio.bz2

/modules/modules.cgz is used in stage1. It contains only modules interesting for
one kind of install. For example in an hd install, it contains scsi modules.
For an network install, it contains network card modules.

/lib/modules/ contains modules that should be in /lib/modules/modules.cpio.bz2
but are not for speed up. The serial.o module is there to speed up mouseconfig.

/lib/modules/modules.cpio.bz2 contains every module except those of
/lib/modules/


To install a module, use modprobe which is in /usr/bin. It's a perl wrapper
around /usr/bin/insmod. It uses the dependencies found in
/lib/modules/modules.dep (stage1).

/usr/bin/insmod is a wrapper around /usr/bin/insmod_. It just extracts the
module out of /lib/modules/modules.cpio.bz2 in /tmp. Then it calls insmod_.

/usr/bin/insmod_ is the real prog (which you usually find in /sbin/). You need
to give it the complete path.

********************************************************************************
* Making screenshots ***********************************************************
********************************************************************************
On a test machine, make a network install, switch to console (ctrl-alt-F2), enter:
% xhost+

then, on another computer:
% DISPLAY=test_machine:0 xwd -root | convert - screenshot.png