HackyRemaster v3RC - Release Candidate

[Pizzasgood]

(The RC version referred to here has gone missing. However, we've managed to located a copy of 3.1, which should be even better.)
hackyremaster-v3.1.pet
hackyremaster-v3.1.pup

HackyRemaster-v3RC.pup - Release Candidate (now missing...)
|UPDATE| April 8, 2006 - v3RC: Added teminal echos; improved installer; is a Release Candidate.
|UPDATE| April 4, 2006 - v3iv: Fixes many bugs introduced by last versions; adds Xdialog interface; eliminates terminal (can still be seen through a right click on the dotpup); looks spiffy.
|UPDATE| April 2, 2006 - v3iii: Automatically creates loop-back devices when needed and possible.
|UPDATE| April 2, 2006 - v3ii: Functionized scripts; new icons; added readmes to control panel.
|UPDATE| April 1, 2006 - v3i.1: Corrected size calculations.

For those who don't know, HackyRemaster is a way to remaster Puppy. I call it "Hacky" because I hacked it out of Barry's old remaster script, and it wasn't originally very friendly (still isn't, really, but it's much better). I'm working on smoothing it out, giving it more functionality, and making it more foolproof. Rather than wait until I get the whole thing done, I'm going to be putting it up in stages. The "i" at the end of the version is like the lower-case Roman numerals in the begginning of a book. When I finish it, it will be 3.0.

So far I've finished many of the bug fixes I've been wanting to do. The image.gz file is now four to five megabytes smaller than the last version's (bad typo, bad ). It also doesn't delete the filesystem if you try unmounting while rox is open to the directory (bad lack of error checking, bad). This is the stuff I've finished from my To-Do list:

• update isolinux.cfg settings
• add HackyPupBeGone
• fix cleanup bug (Important)
• add ability to use isos in addition to cds
• fix image.gz buffer size (Important)
• integrate burniso2cd
• upgrade integrated burniso2cd to blank cdrw's

It has the burniso2cd script integrated (but you have to have set your cd burner settings, as usual). It also has HackyPupBeGone, which is a tweaked PupBeGone to work with it. You can right click the rox-app to view both the HackyRemaster readme and the HackyPupBeGone readme. They should be helpful.

My next stage is to put all the little scripts into functions. While I'm in there I'll fix any bugs people find, and clean up some things. I'm also going to add some more error checking. Then I'm probably going to re-do the frontend to be more friendly.

I'm hoping the instructions in the readme will be sufficient. If not, complain so I know what to add to. I'm going to have to re-write it anyways when I do the new interface, so I didn't double check it hard for this release. Knowing what is intuitive or obvious and what isn't will come in handy, though.

So, go ahead and test this. Or don't. Doesn't matter to me. I'll do it anyway, and posting this gives me more incentive to finish quickly, since now I'll feel guilty if I delay.

Also, tomorrow is Tuesday, so as usual I'll be busy writing an essay. Depending on how fast I get done, I might or might not get over here. So don't think I'm ignoring you or anything.

[Guest]

Thanks wizkid for taking the time to write such script,but excuse my ignorance for asking such a question.
i was so excited when i saw that part that it can remaster from iso since i don't have a burner but when i run it it says:

You need one free loop device to use an iso. If you do
not have that many, you need to free one up

what is a loop device?! and how do you free'em?
i did search for a definition (http://www.geocities.com/rlcomp_1999/loop.html)but since I'm a grumpy old man )it made matter even worst and i have no idea what the heck they are talking about.
BTW i did read the included document but nothing was mentioned about that.
Thanks again.

[bombayrockers]

Pizzasgood,
You have made life so easy for me, by adding the ability to use isos. After I made a successful frugal install to hd install by hacking /usr/sbin/installfuncs, I tried hacking hackremaster to remaster from a frugal install without using a cd. But that effort went in vain.

thanks, I will give it try

[bombayrockers]

I was trying to make a prettypup puplet using hackyremaster v3. I had to add some files which increased the size of the image file. I keeps getting similar error (no space left on device) while making the image.gz. I think the script is not able to count the correct size of the new image.gz

[Pizzasgood]

what is a loop device?! and how do you free'em?

BTW i did read the included document but nothing was mentioned about that.

Toldja I forgot stuff Loop devices are used to mount (assuming you know about mounting) filesystem images (like an iso or image.gz). Normally, you only mount physical drives. To mount a file, you use a loopback device to make it look like a drive. Puppy comes with four or so if I remember correctly. It uses a couple to mount image.gz, usr_cram.fs, usr_more.sfs (if you have it), usr_devx.sfs (if you have it), and pup001 (if you have it). I often have a couple more in use while working with other pupfiles or image files. There are ways to make new loopbacks, but I just copy some from my vector install. To actually free one that is in use, you'd have to unmount it. I'll probably set up some kind of automated loop-maker into it to solve the problem, though. Then we don't have to worry about it unless you have 16 of them (the current limit) in use. But if you have that many in use, you probably know more about them than I do, so you'll be fine.

I was trying to make a prettypup puplet using hackyremaster v3. I had to add some files which increased the size of the image file. I keeps getting similar error (no space left on device) while making the image.gz. I think the script is not able to count the correct size of the new image.gz

Grrr.... I probably didn't put the free buffer big enough. In the original remaster script written by Barry it was 448, but it yelled at me for that, so I increased it to 512. It worked when I used it, but I guess for some cases it isn't good enough. I'll take a look at that on Friday. Maybe I'm just missing something else in the size calculations, and the buffer is good enough.

If you want to test the rest, you can edit the file /root/my-roxapps/HackyRemaster/makerootimage to have a bigger size. It's set just a little above the part that echos the "there is a problem" bit, which is near the top. I know for a fact that 5120 works (or at least did before and nobody complained). It makes it several megabytes larger than neccissary, though.

[Pizzasgood]

Okay, I found the problem. It wasn't the calculation as much as it was the file-creation. When I had it make the image file, a portion of the space I originally gave it was lost. I could have just made it slightly bigger, but the size lost was variable. I figured out a small formula to check the space needed and calculate a suitable buffer size (roughly 4%). Now it should work. I re-uploaded it and edited my first post for the new address. Now I'm going to start working on v3ii, which will combine all the mini-scripts into a set of functions.

[Pizzasgood]

Okay, I uploaded v3ii. It now has all the little scripts as functions. I tweaked a couple small details, such as making some path names into variables. I also realized that I had messed up the deletion part when I had gone in to make it safer, so I fixed that. Now it deletes the remaster directory it creates. I added buttons for viewing the readmes from the control-panel. Finally, I updated the icons, so they aren't screws. It also comes with them built in, so it isn't dependant on your particular Puppy haveing the correct gear image in /usr/share/pixmaps like the other ones were.

Next I'm going to look into having it take care of loop devices on its own. That will be v3iii. Then I'll probably do the "new" interface for v3iv. I'll probably keep the same control panel deal I have now, but I'm going to get rid of the terminal window in favor of a gui, which will make selecting an image file much easier. I'll also maybe be able to give it interactive editing of isolinux.cfg. Or I might just include the option to open it with the default text editor. Either way, it will be better than what little it currently has.

[Pizzasgood]

I've been busy today! I just uploaded v3iii (the link is on the first post), which can automatically create new loop-back devices. I also set up a nice little looping deal so you can have unlimited re-tries if you don't have an availible loop device. It does give the option to abort, so don't worry about that. It doesn't explain loops, because Puppy only comes with five active (0-4), but it can create new ones when necissary. It's unlikely that somebody who doesn't know about loops is going to have actually gone out of their way to create and use four more. I'm assuming that if you've added four loops, you know how to use them. If this assumption is wrong, let me know and I'll add a better in-script explanation.

So, next on my list is to make a better interface. That'll be a pain, because I'll have to create dialog boxes with the info from those echos. It will give time for what I've done already to maybe get tested, though.

[robert]

You spelled HackyRemaster-v3iii.pup in your link. It should be

hackyremaster-viii.pup

[Pizzasgood]

Actually, the link is right. I spelled the file itself wrong. It's supposed to be v3iii, not viii. The v3 is for "version 3", and the iii is "third pre-release" (kinda like the pages with Roman numerals in the intro stuff of books). I fixed it now. Thanks.

[Pizzasgood]

HackyRemaster-v3iv (version 3, pre-stage iv) is now uploaded. It is an alpha release. This one needs some testing. I fixed many bugs that either already existed or were created in v3ii. I also gave it an interface using Xdialog (except the control panel, which is gtkdialog). In the process of making the interface, I added some comments that will make it far easier for me to navigate it. I also removed the terminal, since it is no longer necissary. I left the option to have it in the background as a way to identify errors, though. You can activate it by right clicking the rox-app. It isn't as useful as it could be at the moment, though, as I removed most of the echos from the script (and echo is the command to output to the terminal). In the next update I'm going to re-write them in a more logical and efficient way.

I also set it to back up the old one when it installs, just in case. I tend to be hesitant about deleting stuff on other people's computers. I'll add a box that gives an option to overwrite or back up in the next version.

All in all, this is a major improvement over version 2. It has HackyPupBeGone built in, automatically adds loops, has a more usable interface (I hope), has some bug fixes, is more efficient, and just plain looks better (especially if you have a nice gtk theme). I'm starting to run out of stuff to add (excepting HackyPupGet because that's for version 4). As far as function goes, this is probably it. The next release will probably be a beta. I'll be adding those echos for "debug mode," make the installer more friendly, and fix any bugs that people find. So have at it!

[Pizzasgood]

I just uploaded the release candidate. hackyremaster-v3RC.pup
Assuming no bugs are found, this will become the finished version 3 on Tuesday, April 11, or else the first time after that date that I remember and have time to make the post. Any modifications after that will result in traditional numbering, as they will be after releases rather than pre-releases.

This RC is nearly identical to v3iv, but has slight adjustments here and there. It now has messages that appear when the terminal is used, which will aid in finding the precice location of any errors. I also updated the installer to give the option of backing up or overwriting previous versions of HackyRemaster.

I'll make a wiki page with better instructions and maybe a screen shot or two, but I can't say when I'll do it. Probably by next weekend at the latest. I might even start it today, but I'm not sure.

[ttuuxxx]

Since it was lost here's a link to hackyremaster-v3.1

Pet version
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... h&id=19500

pup version
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... h&id=19498
ttuuxxx