[Fedora-livecd-list] pre-install scripts and syslinux

[Jeremy Katz]

On Thu, 2008-11-13 at 12:30 -0500, David Straub wrote:
> On Thu, Nov 13, 2008 10:37 AM Jeremy Katz <katzj at redhat.com> wrote:
> >Yeah, the code is clearly trivial.  But if we're to correspond with the
> >other case that %pre is used (the installer), then we need to run the
> >script before we get any install roots or similar created.  At which
> >point, the question is what are you trying to accomplish with the %pre
> >and is there a better way?
> 
> Sorry, I probably should have mentioned that first to explain the change.  It
> was intentional ... but now I see where concerns would arise regarding the %pre
> environment.
> 
> What I am trying to accomplish is essentially what partition directives do in a
> "real" install.  If I recall correctly, livecd-tools only acknowledges the root
> partition.  I used %pre to create disk images and mount them over points in the
> install directory so I could keep the main image's size low.  Then while
> running on a system, the main image (a few MB) is loaded into memory and the
> non-essential images are mounted from a slower medium if needed.  (I am running
> some "special" systems.)
> 
> I know this isn't exactly the intended purpose of livecd-tools, but
> nevertheless, I thought it would be more acceptable to implement an
> install-root-aware %pre section rather than trying to have partition directives
> create disk images.  I am probably the only person on Earth who uses the
> package for this purpose, so perhaps I should just keep my own local fork of
> the scripts if compatibility with the installer is important.  (In this case I
> think I will create disk images for partition directives.)
> 
> As for the question of a better way: If there is one, I don't know of it.  I am
> certainly open to suggestions.

It sounds like for what you're doing, some of the functionality in the
appliance-creator tool (should be in some of the thincrust.net related
packages) will give you exactly what you're looking for.  It already
uses directives in the ks.cfg for setting up partitions and then it's
using the exact same backend (imgcreate) as livecd-creator

Jeremy