hmm... this looks good, you are still using the .iso's from the existing packages.
using hget makes it faster of course, you could hget from http://plan9.bell-labs.com/sources/contrib but that would mean the user/package thing... centralization sometimes makes things easier. kudos On Sat, May 15, 2010 at 12:43 PM, ron minnich <rminn...@gmail.com> wrote: > Here is a refinement of fgb's fine work on a contrib system. I have > taken his ideas a bit further, based on my use of his tools in an > unreliable environment. I was getting quite frustrated as I had > multiple failures in the midst of an install, and seeing the message > 'xyz already installed', when it was only 1/2 installed, was wasting > time. Also, I'm just not patient enough to wait for replica to do its > work. > > While I think both replica and the contrib system are quite capable, > each in their own way, I felt they were lacking for my purposes. I > have become very impressed with how tinycore linux does binary > packages. I decided to enumerate what I like about that system, and > based on that, what I'd like to have on Plan 9. Not all goals are met > however. > > 1. reconstitute root file system on boot, in ram, then mount packages > as file systems, so basic root remains pristine > 2. fast -- listing and dependencies should take well under a second; > package install of even big things should be under 3 minutes. > 3. easy to list package dependencies quickly > 4. auto-install of a package and its dependencies > 5. separate package download from install; hence download can proceed > in parallel (not really in tinycore, just possible) > 6. know what packages are installed quickly and easily > 7. easy to remove a package; just remove one file, reboot, it's gone (see 1) > *note*: when your system boots in 10 seconds, reboot is not that big a deal > 8. no false positive: don't think a package is installed when it is > not or is only partially done (due to failure for example) > 9. false negatives are ok: if a package is installed but you don't > think it is, reinstallation should be cheap > 10. No need for continuous tinkering of db or other files to keep it > working correctly. > 11. Works well in a high latency, even if high bandwidth, network. > > Which of these goals does replica meet, e.g. for /sys/src? > From my point of view, none of them. > > Which of these goals does the current contrib system meet? > Much as I like the contrib system, it still depends on replica, so, > from my point of view, none of the goals are met. > I once saw it take four hours to install openssl. That's just not workable. > > Which of these goals does the gui-based contrib system meet? > This is the system that downloads .iso files and then runs replica > against them. It meets 3, to some extent, but is still too slow for > me; it sort of meets 6; but, unfortunately, it fails on 8. > > Which of these goals does my extension meet? > 2 -- can download/install all of hg, including all dependencies, in 3 > minutes, 2 of which are hget > 3 -- .1 seconds for 'deps hg'; .1 second for list packages; < .1 > second for list installed > 4 -- it knows the dependencies and will install everything with one command > 5 -- get and install are seperate commands > 6 -- ls /installed > 8 -- yes -- /installed/<name> is only created when the package is > completely installed (but there are bugs still) > 9 -- yes > 10. there is little in the way of a db file, just a /installed > directory (which you get by a bind -a) > 11. It's far faster than existing systems because it uses hget > > 1. is obviously not yet met. I think it would be worth doing a tiny 9, > just as we have tinycore, for terminals. > 7. is still not met. Package removal is still a mess. I had hoped to > just mount the .iso's and run the tools out of them but have not > figured out all the issues yet. A simple rbind failed to do the trick. > > Here are some examples. > > # available packages > term% time list > 4th > 8169 > 82563 > 9load-e820 > 9win > X11 > abaco > > (etc.) > 0.00u 0.00s 0.11r list > > # what packages does hg need? > term% time deps hg > z > bz2 > openssl > python > 0.00u 0.00s 0.10r deps hg > > #install tiff > term% install tiff > package is tiff > Package z already installed, no need to do it > 9660srv 1151: serving /srv/tiff > FINIS > > #install tiff again > term% install tiff > package is tiff > Package z already installed, no need to do it > Package tiff already installed, no need to do it > FINIS > term% > > Sources to these tools, including the build script, are at > http://9grid.net/magic/webls?dir=/rminnich/src/package-tools > > You can try them out -- it's all there. Packages are in > http://9grid.net/magic/webls?dir=/rminnich/src/package > > I don't pretend the scripts are very good, they just represent a > starting point. Experience (mine) is that the system work well. For > example, just doing: > > get openssh > install openssh > > takes very little time and has worked reliably for me on 9vx. > > And, since I installed hg earlier, openssh install skipped the openssh > install step. Left to the reader (or me in a bit): don't download iso > when the package is installed! -- but it's so fast I have not > bothered. > > I'm able to install packages now without worrying about whether I will > be ready to disconnect my laptop and go home before the install is > done! > > Next step, if this system is found to be useful, is to adapt fgb's gui > program. > > ron > > -- Federico G. Benavento
