Jerome, > If you can figure out how to get it to work, then it will be worth > considering.
It works. Updated builds are posted here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1b7IE-EsK5R1ROmXTaEvYNi9-kfVvH5wi?usp=sharing * The 1.44 MB floppy set is reduced from eight to three diskettes. * The 1.20 MB floppy set is reduced from ten to four diskettes. * The 720 KB floppy set is reduced from fifteen to six diskettes. Creating 360 KB floppies or smaller would require a big extension of the installation program. This update also includes forward error correction for bad media. The nearby BOOT.diff file describes what changed to make the demo happen. > 1) Wether or not it’s License is using an acceptable open source license. > 2) Usage is approved. Not up to me. But if licenses are ok, it should not be > a problem. The encoder is non-free and zero-cost, but the demo otherwise implements all features. > 3) Can be told to create spans of a specific size (so can be used on all > floppy variations, one size fits all). Yes. > 4) Can replace SLICER with little to no overhead added to the installer > and/or RBE (Release Build Environment) > ... > https://github.com/shidel/FDI-x86/tree/master/SETTINGS Thanks for posting this Github link, which I will review later. I looked for a FreeDOS build system earlier but didn't find it. > 5) Can provide the same level of flexibility without the need to manually > modify code when there are package/tag changes. In the updated demo, a @LISTFILE substitutes each possible "SLICER /G %TPU%" invocation. > Can it display general text during the install process? Yes, this can be scripted through the IDOS.SFX module. The given demo displays progress per-file, which is the default. > Does it support NLS and provide text in the users language for prompts? Dunno about NLS, but it can do ANSI.SYS style text in if/then/else blocks. > On systems that support change-line, can it auto-resume without being told to > continue? Dunno what change-line support is... But the extractor won't prompt for a media change if it can already see the next volume, so floppy contents can be copied to a ZipDrive or HDD and the installer will behave properly. > After completion, can it just return an errorlevel to the installer and not > stop with an “I’m done, Press OK” message? The available %ERRORLEVEL% returns are sensible and actionable. > Those and other settings are available in the projects SETTINGS directory. > Specifically, the X86_ALL.LST defines what gets what slicer tags for > assembling the archive. This RAR demo is somewhat an accident and I appreciate how licensing matters. Two alternatives to using RAR or finishing SLICER come to mind now that I better understand the solution: 1a. Replace FREEDOS.SAF with a FREEDOS.TGZ tarball. 1b. Use coreutils to "SPLIT FREEDOS.TGZ" across floppy media. 1c. Unpack it with a "COPY /B PART1+PART2" method and some batch logic. This is how Linux distributions did installation before CD-R media was invented. Zero new compiled code is required to implement it for FreeDOS, and it will cost 10 MB of temporary hard disk space at install time. 2. Use the GPL licensing option in unrarlib to create a RAR2 encoder. Make a "grar" utility like there is "gzip", which would have general application, especially in the retro computing. _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
