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NEW (06Sept2021): Better quick HowTo use to produce WDL_manjaXFCE (Manjaro XFCE) post by fredx181 here:
Also (08Sept2021) see here for Fred's implemented Thomas M (linux live) method for reducing initrd finished size:
viewtopic.php?p=36345#p36345
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I'm always thinking about future maintenance...
I say to myself: "What if I get fed up maintaining the WDL_Arch64 build plugin (which is unlikely since it my family's one and only main desktop and server system...)"?
The Arch-based WeeDog has become my favourite, so I was thinking about what backup distro system I could use as a fallback, if I became tired of development - one that is an Arch derivative?
What else but Manjaro...
So this morning I downloaded Manjaro XFCE edition (3.5 GB download). What now? One of the almost 'hidden' gem features of WeeDog is that its initrd is designed to be able to control pretty much any other distro's rootfs, providing that distro with WDL's 100 layers for sfs modules (via WDL's always used overlayfs frugal install design) and all the other save persistence, upper_changes rollback (folders or sfs files) and other frugal install features (in RAM, changes only on EXIT and so on) that that provides.
Anyway, took me all of 10 minutes only to convert that normally full-installed Manjaro into a frugally installed WDL_manjaXFCE distro... worked on first attempt.
Those used to building/using WeeDogLinux systems will recognise from the attached screenshots how this Manjaro WeeDog system was made to work - main detail is that Manjaro system iso provides the distro as four sfs files, which WeeDog simply layers together in appropriate numbered order (I added the appropriate filename numbers to the extracted sfs files and copied over the modules into the initrd /usr/lib/modules directory, and extracted the related vmlinuz of course). Note that you will find the Manjaro kernel modules inside the iso's included rootfs.sfs file at /usr/lib/modules and the kernel in /boot.
Another example of WeeDog being like the Lord of the Rings: One Ring to Rule Them All...
Evil little distro clearly. Haven't tested it out much at all yet, but Manjaro seems very nice (no wonder so popular), and not too slow at all in XFCE format, and uses pacman of course(!) and includes PAMAC package manager gui, which also handles Arch AUR installs...
Considerably different design to WDL_Arch64 (openbox/tint2) of course, but easy to mould it to similar via pacman and various WDL_Arch64 config additions, so yes, this will be an alternative for my partner's business and our main family needs, and one that is constantly developed by a large team of developers (with underlying Arch rolling-release repos).
I have no plans to release the iso - don't know if I legally could - WeeDog just controlling underlying main official Manjaro system, so not mine to distribute. However, any competent WDL system builder could easily do the above in 10 minutes...
Just trying it on my old (2008) HP Elitebook 2530p core2duo machine, which has grub4dos menu.lst on it:
Code: Select all
title WDL_manjaXFCE (sda4)
find --set-root uuid () b812c597-8099-4bee-9bb3-8b9c10f1e902
kernel /WDL_manjaXFCE/vmlinuz-5.13-x86_64 w_bootfrom=UUID=b812c597-8099-4bee-9bb3-8b9c10f1e902=/WDL_manjaXFCE w_changes=RAM1
initrd /WDL_manjaXFCE/initrd.gz
My goodness!!! Manjaro XFCE is REALLY nice to use!!! And it works perfectly fine on this old machine (in this frugal install WeeDog variant). I've been demonstrating it to my kids and that wee pest of a nine year old of mine wants me to copy the frugal installation over onto his machine - I guess that is the end of WDL_Arch64 for him and onto WDL_manjaXFCE... sigh... Oh well, much the same under the hood - I can tweak it to give me identical extra functionality to WDL_Arch64 anyway.
Manjaro XFCE normal (full install) would not be a Puppy forum distro killer, but, I hate to say this, WDL frugally installable version WDL_manjaXFCE makes it difficult to not wonder 'why bother with anything else???'. Sorry. Well, WDL_Void is a special efficient rock-stable case and Puppy used for a special one-off purpose (e.g. either, for example, rockedge Zoneminder server being good exemplars) - but as main desktop WDL_manjaXFCE hard to beat. Manjaro clearly has a good team of very talented developers/graphics-artists and so on... WeeDog's build_weedog_initrd provides the key to flexible frugal install features though... And that generic WDL build system remains thus the main focus for my personal computer-related developments rather than the multiple flavours of final resulting distros the build system is capable of assembling.
Of course, if you 'really want it all...' then check out the WDL_manjaXFCE_WDL_Arch64 attached image - using vnc with VirtualGL to include WDL_Arch64 distro from one of my family server installs ...
Aside from that all-important frugal install multi-layers overlayfs rollback upper_changes build system, like my 9 year old, I'm becoming increasingly more interested in Python-related GUI programming (with Kivy, or PySimpleGUI and later sometimes maybe Django) - main thing I'm interested in is freeing up more time for such activities and less time mucking around trying to configure apps to make them work on distros that need constant tinkering to work. WDL_manjaXFCE (as well as WDL_Arch64) fits the bill for me. The only thing I couldn't get working on WDL_Arch64 was quick attempt with mariadb - that's another reason I downloaded Manjaro - I want to see if mariadb is fine there, and if so, find what config details I missed previously.
I'll try making a WeeDogged MX Linux tomorrow - should be another easy to make frugal installable 'killer' though... All good though - we all need more time for contributing real development work rather than cherry-picking and re-inventing old wheels.
NOTE: Pro: Manjaro (as WDL_manjaXFCE) is beautiful to use distro. Con: MUCH heavier in resource usage than the very efficient WDL_Arch64. I can't quantify this really, but let's just say that top utility usually registers CPU around 99% idle with WDL_Arch64 even when browser running (one page loaded) but WDL_manjaXFCE is using 50% CPU or more most of the time on my old Elitebook... I suspect all the fancy XFCE effects (transparency and so on) need a lot of CPU... but I guess I can tweak out the fancier more resource hogging parts so will be good eventually... Currently looks like Firefox is causing the issue so may not be overall manjaroXFCE issue - I'll try Arch Chromium build (that is what I use in WDL_Arch64 distro). EDIT: I simply closed some of the multiple tabs in Firefox WDL_manjaXFCE and CPU is fine now - after a few seconds CPU is around 90% idle, but WDL_Arch64 is way better for same tabbed pages I believe. I'll report back if I can find reasons/improvements...
EDIT2: Installed Chromium - no CPU issues with that. All fine. Come to think of it, on this machine I originally used Firefox in my WDL_Arch64 builds but had CPU issue there too, but found no such issue with Chromium so changed to that (and loved Chromium ever since) - so now I find same thing with Manjaro or at least WDL_manjaXFCE and with Chromium it is wonderful.
EDIT3: I suspect I can get a tiny manjaro by just using the 04firstrib_rootfs.sfs part. I'll try that now; would be excellent if smaller variant working with pacman since can add what I want then anyway. And perhaps slightly bigger manjaro if only include 04firstrib_rootfs.sfs alongwith 05desktop.sfs (I just rename the unwanted sfs files by sticking a D for Disable in front of their filenames before rebooting... easy with WeeDog eh...!).
EDIT4: Yes, that worked, with just 04firstrib_rootfs.sfs took me to manjaro commandline prompt - correctly guesses user:password as manjaro:manjaro (hmmm... that password didn't work next time I tried - not sure what happened - so I unsquashed firstrib_rootfs and used WDL utility to chroot to it and changed root password manually to 'root'). Pacman was there, but didn't have active internet connection - not sure if netmanager on that sfs yet, wiakwifi would work but only if I install the busybox/udhcpd script component, which is easy enough though full netmanager will be better overall...
EDIT5: installed wiakwifi, busybox, and udhcpc default script and on reboot with only (uncompressed) 04firstrib_rootfs/ I was able to connect via wifi without issue. However, I'm likely to just use the full WDL_manjaXFCE in practice - it's really nice (with Chromium replacing Firefox though).
EDIT6: On new reboot of full WDL_manjaXFCE Firefox working okay now, but Chromium still seems a bit more resource-friendly and I don't trust Firefox in this distro on my machine at least now - Arch Chromium, however, is rock solid.
wiak