Woof progress

I have been quiet lately, as busy coding.

I'm writing the hardest part of Woof, which is to rip apart the Ubuntu packages and create slim packages for Woof. The difficulty is that it has to be completely automated.

There are going to be three scripts, '1download', '2createpackages' and '3builddistro'. I'm currently writing the middle one, as it is the most difficult.

Very slow, heaps of fiddly details. I have to examine every package that gets processed, file-by-file, to see that a sensible woof package is getting created. I'm probably 3/4 done.

So, soon I'll write '3builddistro', then we shall see... I fully expect the live-CD to crash in a flaming heap, for all kinds of reasons, especially missing dependencies.

Anyway, here is something to look at, for anyone interested:

Nimrod
I have been scouting around checking out more Python-like languages, and found this:

http://nimrod.ethexor.com/

it's a true compiler. I compiled a couple of console apps, "hello world" was 82KB, but then I tested another much larger app and it also was a 82KB executable.

Nimrod has GTK2 bindings, but "Hello world" was 878KB. But, all the GTK2 libs were compiled statically -- very interesting, in the docs the author seems to prefer this so that GTK2 apps will work anywhere. I sent an email a few days ago asking howto/if I can change that to link all libs shared -- he hasn't yet replied.

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Comments

woof


Re: Ubuntu clone
Username: BarryK
"straypup, Puppy3 is based on Slackware binary packages -- did that make it a Slackware clone? Not at all. Ditto for woof based on Ubuntu or Debian packages. I am pulling the binary packages from them, but Woof will not be anything like those distros. In fact, in the first incarnation it will be exactly like Puppy4. In almost every respect. Well, that's if I do manage to debug it. Woof will be like Puppy4 but with the bonus of exact binary compatibility with Ubuntu packages, making it easier to install any packages from the Ubuntu repos -- even the official Ubuntu repo has, if I recall rightly, about 25,000 packages. One thing that will be a bit different from Puppy4 is woof may be a bit bigger, due to extra dependencies, but how much bigger I don't yet know -- that's going to be most interesting, to see what size my first live-CD is!

Woof? Woof! Woof!
Username: lobster
"[i]"Wrong direction?"[/i] Perhaps. Perhaps there are only right directions, which is the one we choose to travel in. I recently put Ubuntu on my Hard disk. Is it good? Good enough. Good enough for many users. Where Puppy scores is in speed and smallness. Where Ubuntu scores is available packages, support and promotion. So it makes sense to see how these components can be complemented. Will I be using Ubuntu on the hard drive? I doubt it, might play with it a little. Every time I try and install something it wants passwords. Firefox with Flash plays BBC programs full screen. That is good. I look forward to 4.2 and to Woof. Will I be using Ubuntu - probably not much, if at all, it reminds me of a free version of Windows. For may people that is what they want. What I want is Puppy with access to all the Ubuntu programs, that would be ideal - Woof? Woof! Woof!

hurra
Username: ferukenagy
"I hardly expect woof! binary compatibility with ubuntu/debian is very good for those big reposytories all over the world. (I loved puppy 300 slackware compatibility).After puppy even xubuntu is far too bloated and laizy not to mention kubuntu.I am imagine an small super fast (like barebone) woof-puppy , on which evreybody with apt-get (or maybe synaptic) should easyly make his custom puppy.Imagine instead of one big laizy ubuntu , an small woof-puppy with different pupsave files tailored by everybody needs (work,internet...) On reporting hardware problems may be an extra help comparing puppy with ubuntu-live behavior. Instead of uploading puppy user variants iso files, it would be more bandwith cheaper to upload puppy variants 'meta-package' file... Well it sounds to be a lot of fun.We could accept for this a little fatter puppy...

Puppy goes Woof not
Username: dogone
"I'd like to commend Barry for thinking outside the box that Puppy comes in. Woof has the potential to push the Puppy concept into the mainstream. Let's face it, Puppy's stable of 300+ .pets cannot compare to what Ubuntu/Debian offers. As Linux grows, people are bound to expect more. Here's an exercise. Boot your Puppy and then close your eyes. Now imagine opening Software Manager and finding there 15,000 applications. Now, imaging closing and opening SM again and finding just 100.

Woof brings your slippers too
Username: BarryK
"And your newspaper and pipe. I'm designing Woof-Unleashed to potentially handle any binary packages, including Slackware or those built from T2. My '2createpackages' script builds "generic" packages, with a name like "xorg_base" for example, no version number, and there is a master table that defines what distro packages have to go into that generic package -- the table does not have version numbers either, I get that by downloading a package list for a particular distro release, such as Ubuntu Intrepid. It would be a matter of changing to a different table for T2 or whatever, and a packages file would be required which has the version numbers in it -- hopefully pretty easy to do (very hopefully).

Wrong direction?
Username: Sage
"Quite frankly, apart from enthusiasts reading this blog, I don't believe the great unwashed, who, eventually, drive all the technology and their markets, give two hoots what may or may not be available in packages, with or without manipulations that are beyond their ken. What is required, is a correct selection of apps. in the first place that enable them to access the Web, play their music and PRINT N' SCAN their photos as soon as they switch on. Reliable updates and regular fixes are the sine qua non. A few games of patience are a bonus, but power games are best left to PS3 and Wii. Simple, sweet, cheap & portable - K.I.S.S. by any other name - always marks out engineers of all persuasions.

puppy on eBay
Username: Gert3d
"Someone is making money from your work ... http://cgi.ebay.com/Puppy-4.1-Linux-on-1-GB-USB-Flash-Drive-1GB-Boot-Stick-_W0QQitemZ270292518229QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20081026?IMSfp=TL081026104004r18909 puppy is a great job, well done, fun to use! Hope it will stay around and not misused!

Fedora
Username: Guy Alfandary
"Why not Fedora instead of Debian? It seems to be much more up to date (cf. http://distrowatch.com/).

Nimrod
Username: Andreas Rumpf
"Note: I am the author of Nimrod. I am sorry, I didn't get any email from you. (Or maybe your mail got into my spam folder. I don't check that often.) Nimrod does not link GTK statically. It links dynamically via the 'dlsym' mechanism. However, since this is done for every GTK function, the result is the code bloat that you noticed. Dead code elimination will fix this and is on my todo list.

Tags: woof