On Sun, 31 Mar 2013, Ottavio Caruso wrote: > The default method now is to untar a rootfs, there's no point using an > installer. That is a remainder of the pc world. I did try it though and may > recall it didn't work.
For me, the reasons to use the installer are: 1 - Someone has to provide rootfs's and if you want your users to be able to install a -current, you need to keep them up to date. Or if you don't update it, people will have to upgrade manually (or with a tool). But for over 10 years of doing this, I have realised that many people install a -current and *never* update it. Or they pick and choose packages to upgrade, and end up with a broken OS; then tell you it's all broken. You spend ages looking at it and realise it's just cause they didn't update properly ;-) If you can tell them "reinstall with the installer", and that's how you (as a developer do it), then you know that they will get a sane environment. 2 - If instead of providing rootfs's you supply scripts, you need to be cognisant that if your users has no ARM machine, then they cannot installpkg every package successfully since some packages chroot into the installation and execute the binaries. THis obviously will not result in a properly installed package if it's installed from anything other than the target architecture. This is why the Slackware ARM miniroots are built natively even though it'd be far faster to do on an x86. 3- You still have to do some OS configuration - and IMO, the installer is the best place to do this up front. I mean look at Fedora on the Trimslice - they provide a mini root but Slackware ARM is installed using the regular installer without any real effort. You just boot the installer as normal, install and reboot into the OS. _______________________________________________ ARMedslack mailing list ARMedslack@lists.armedslack.org http://lists.armedslack.org/mailman/listinfo/armedslack