myDSL Extensions (deprecated) :: MyDSL Maker



In response to the question about having at-boot loaded .deb packages:

That's really a question for Mr Andrews or Mr. Shingledecker.  Shell-scripting isn't my strong suit, and that would be something to go in the minirt24.gz's linuxrc file - not to mention apt would have to be enabled, configured and updated before any .debs could be installed.  It's a good idea, and conceptually doable, I suppose, but not without causing a massive surge in memory requirements and iso size.
Updates:
Currently working in development stuff:
FTP updater for dynamically loading mydsl archive from ibiblio has been improved and integrated with the main mydslmaker.php script.  Now, all an administrator has to do is run the script daily through a browser (or just using a cron job for php mydslmkr.php > update_log.html or some such) to keep an up-to-date mirror of ibiblio.  It downloads only what's new, making it nice and easy.  I also fixed the browser-stalling bug by using the non-blocking FTP functions (also giving the updater a happy little progress bar for every updated file).  There's an issue with flushing the output buffer (the current workaround is to toss out about 2000 null characters in an HTML comment, something I think is dirty and lame, but I can't seem to get flush and ob_end_flush to work as documented), but as long as you - as an admin - aren't on dial-up to your host, it should be ok.

I'm including a style-maker for the script, complete with DHTML color and background picker.  The current archive of backgrounds I'm using contains everything in the theme packs, as well as a few wallpapers I though would be appropriate for a linux desktop.  This is about half-complete, as I spent a while making the DHTML cross-browser (so Win/IE users could appreciate everything as well as could Win/Linux/Firefox users).  There's still a bug in the color picker that I can't seem to fix, and it affects DSL/Firefox.uci users specifically.  Apparently, the support in firefox.uci for the event DOM object is flawed (specifically, capturing the mouse coordinates is flawed).  I'll be working on a way to repair this, but in the meanwhile you can still use the color-picker, it'll just be in the upper-right-hand corner of the page frame.

I'm adding in an option set for the default section of isolinux.cfg.  This will allow users to precustomize their at boot settings (IE: use /dev/sda1 as your home directory for thumb drives, use fb800x600 for those working with an EPIA on a TV or using QEMU under DSL).  I'm also going to include an option to place the memtest kernel from Knoppix on the CD (the option's there, but the kernel is not) for those who want it.

Automatic mail setup for sylpheed is proving to be problematic.  I can't seem to find the files Sylpheed uses to store it's account.  I had a lead, but it proved not to work.  Does anyone have any ideas here?

The 1-click RDP shortcut is done, working, and quite naace for getting onto my work computer.

If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them, and if feasible, I'll include them in the script.

OH!  Almost forgot!  The script now no longer requires you to have a working mydsl repository to start with.  Because of the way the FTP updater is designed, the script will now BUILD a repository for you if one doesn't exist.  Once I have a RC out (we're still in beta), anyone with the following can host their own MyDSL Maker:
A linux system
Fat pipes
A webserver
PHP with GD2 and FTP support
about a gig-point-five of HD space
Update:
The error with the color picker seems to have resolved itself.  On the other hand, in order to get a fully-working PHP5, built from source, I've been installing and reinstalling a lot of packages from apt, so stock DSL users may still have the problem.  I'm afraid I'm not willing to sacrifice an hour under QEMU to check on this right now, but I will when the other changes to the code have been made.
UPDATE:
The MyDSL Maker v0.5 RC1 is OUT!!!!!

Current featurelist for users:
1) Allows you to build a Live DamnSmallLinux CD from anythin in the myDSL Repository with almost no fuss
2) Lets you pre-setup a customized desktop
3) Lets you pre-setup an e-mail account (one pop3 only.  future plans: IMAP/NNTP/Multiple accounts)
4) Automatically estimates RAM requirements and ISO size as you pick out packages
5) Uses cross-browser compatible DHTML for ease-of-use
6) Does it all simply, cleanly, and efficiently

Featurelist for prospective hosts:
1) creates the main page and saves it as HTML, rather than creating it on-the-fly (keeps CPU down)
2) build and download of ISO are now connected to separate page-loads (lets the server better manage the load)
3) Updates itself on-demand from the myDSL repository
4) Set up is easy as 1, 2, 3
 1) extract the tar.gz file
 2) add backgrounds to images/backgrounds (none are included)
 3) copy, link or mount an existing DSL ISO to mydsl/core
5) FTP update now automatically throttles itself to reduce CPU load and bandwidth use.

Requirements:
Users: An x86 CPU with a modern browser (Firefox or IE).  You can boot from a CD, which requires access to a burner, or you can boot from QEMU.  
Hosts: A Linux system with mkisofs, a webserver supporting PHP with FTP support and the GD2 module.  Big pipes are recommended.

Go!  Have fun!  I am!
very cools sir!
Next Page...
original here.