Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

This is just a teaser related to a very small WeeDogLinux WDLGO_UbuntuFocal64 distro (build using FirstRib build script) I am soon to release.

But the attachment is me using it in a special way. It is a derivative, of the FirstRib rootfs. Well, wait a minute!... it is also a derivative of FossaPup64... But... the mixture is not a WeeDog, it IS a Pup since using puppy initrd and all their underlying system scripts. All the FirstRib build contains is a fully function dpkg/apt system.

I will document how to do this on release of WDLGO_UbuntuFocal64, which is absolutely a distro in its own right, but can be arranged such that it can also be used as a Puppy Fossa addon (as part of FossaPup64 filesystem - NOT a chroot addition only - though could be used that way too of course). However, best to slim down the FossaPup64 first since most of it is not at all required since could be built up from near zero via the FirstRib apt package manager in practice - i.e. the result would be a true very small indeed Puppy apt-based system (still using traditional Puppy aufs and puppy fan favourite PUPMODES and so on) - becomes as fat as you like via apt install...

As a test, for example, I installed openshot-qt via apt on the result. Worked fine.

EDIT: Yes, I know there have been discussions and some practical successes with using apt installed via PPM on Puppy but this FirstRib can provide a more flexible plugin/bolt-on different approach (and some discussions only got as far as being able to use apt-cache search - FirstRib addon can provide the full thing):

2017 mikeslr discussing josephjp2424's pupjibaro jessie distro
http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=940753
2018 how to use apt in Puppy thread by s243a (up to apt-cache search anyway)
(includes some thread discussion on Pros/Cons of using apt in Puppy)
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... ?p=1010671

wiak

Sorry, I was just about to package this up for publishing, but alas have suddenly ran into new issues I hadn't seen before. It is taking too long and using up too much of my summertime so I may abandon for a while at least. Something will come of it eventually I'm sure...
EDIT: Ah... I've made a recent mistake somewhere - something that was working is not working now. I'll look into it afterall...

@wiak

Now that's the spirit! Looking at the possibilities already

rockedge wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 12:53 am

@wiak

Now that's the spirit! Looking at the possibilities already

The end result will be simple to the extent of simplistic, so not for the faint hearted to use either since things will go wrong and need understood (especially to satisfy dpkg/apt integrity). Though simple in end result, this particular creation has proved to be a very tricky wee dog to create, but I see many uses for it, and lots of potential in terms of application and inspiration - excellent for those who wish to experiment (and learn much on the way) and also to use via chroot, and probably particularly nice to play with in a virtual machine, or as I said as a potential plugin for the likes of same distro-version Puppy; though work needs done to make the most of that - and 'big DISCLAIMER' things will break and risks need taken, but Puppy is a good place for such risks and experiments (however, never risk your main system with it!! - create a separate pristine frugal Pup first) , as are various other basic WeeDogLinux creations.

I expect to release first iso of WDLGO_UbuntuFocal64 tonight or tomorrow. It isn't the smallest one - that would be the dpkg-only variant (which I'll publish soon after), which has the advantage of small rootfs size but disadvantage of dependency handling needing done manually. I suspect the provided dpkg/apt version will be more useful in practice, however, since, despite its simplicity and ease of dpkg/apt breaking..., can potentially be built up into a full system (slimmed of docs, man files, and locales, or otherwise). The 01firstrib_rootfs.sfs part of WDLGO_UbuntuFocal64 is not slimmed down at all, but it is pretty small at 31MiB - the firmware/modules is what really adds to the overall size. That could be slimmed to match any particular system's need (i.e. to next to nothing), but I'm planning to provide the full FossaPup64 fw/mods in the iso (so an extra sfs of around 65MiB). By using firmware/modules as a 00fwmods.sfs addon, no modules need to be in the WeeDog initrd.gz itself, so the initrd.gz is very small being only 607 KiB.

As soon as you start adding things via apt the distro (upper_changes persistence) will soon grow of course!!!

Anyway, all is working again, though there are some 'tricks' you need to know to avoid some potential early 'breaks' (All part of the fun of course). This is not intended as any kind of polished distro (it is so basic it hardly does anything), better probably to use debootstrap if you want to build a reliable practical desktop distro... but we already have that in the DebianDogs. But nice thing about such a heavily stripped down distro as WDLGO_Ubuntu is that it isn't hard to find where everything is and how everything works. Even the smallest distro created from debootstrap, on the otherhand, is pretty complex, albeit much harder to break than this tiny WDLGO Ubuntu...

wiak

WDLGO_UbuntuFocal64 is now released so I'll look further into trimming its 01firstrib_rootfs.sfs for use as an addon experiment for FossaPup64.

viewtopic.php?p=15540#p15540

The 30MiB dpkg/apt sfs addon for official FossaPup64 has now been tested as working (albeit as an experiment that you are advised to only try with a new FossaPup64 install).

Details of this hopefully exciting development are at the following post (with some extra details in the post above that):

viewtopic.php?p=15623#p15623