squash-0.1, for hotswapping squashfile extensions

[Nathan F]

This is a small command line utility I'm working on, just a simple ash script. For testers only right now. It allows a host of options pertaining to squashfile extensions like megapup and usr_devx. With it you can load, unload, copy to RAM and then load, or set up a squashfile to load automatically at boot(not fully implemented yet), all while the system is running and without having to reboot.

I'm particularly happy with the --toram option, which allows you to run an extension completely in RAM if you have enought memory (normally usr_devx and usr_more are accessed from your hard drive).

I was writing this mainly for Grafpup and so it is set up for the squashfiles that are in use there, currently it can handle files named usr_devx.sfs, usr_more.sfs, usr_kde.sfs, usr_web.sfs, and usr_multimedia.sfs. You will need extra loop devices to take advantage of the latter three, but Puppy-109 will come so equipped out of the box. The eventual target is the creation of a pre-fattened iso with all the extensions residing in a separate folder on the cd, where they can be accessed by the script and loaded on the fly much like in Slax. The beauty is that the base of the iso would not change and as such it would run just like we're used to running, but by typing a couple commands all kinds of extra software can be accessed right off the cd. Right now such a cd doesn't exist, so the script looks for your squashfiles inside /mnt/home/squash. Right now that directory is hard coded but I may make it a variable in the next version, that can be set by means of a config file. A gui is also planned and is in the (very) early stages of being written. I'm also looking into how to port the idea over to Puppy2.

Note that right now there aren't much in the way of sanity checks, and unionfs is a little buggy with the 2.4 kernel anyway. There is also a limitation that if a squashfile is mounted during bootup in the normal way then the script cannot unload it. You will have to delete or rename it and then reboot to stop using it, just like if you didn't have squash installed. Use it with caution until further notice.

Usage is pretty straightforward. Just type 'squash -h' into a terminal to get an idea of how to use it.

Nathan