Refracta Development, Scripts, etc.
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nadir

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## Re: Refracta wiki project

Thu Feb 14, 2013 9:26 pm

> golinux wrote:Sections on 'Updating Refracta' and 'Refractasnapshot' have been added to the OP. Note that the etc/ location had to be altered to get around the forum bug. Is there anything else that needs to be included other than the refractainstaller blurb?

In case i am asked to post a comment:
To me that actual version looks really good.
I guess if you will add more, it will be in a similar style.
I will skip my comments in that case, and only post if i see something which might be changed.
Iow: I do read if you make changes and announce them. Even if i don't post.
golinux

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## Re: Refracta wiki project

Thu Feb 14, 2013 10:57 pm

@nadir . . . I was beginning to wonder why things had had gone silent. I need to write that last section. Can you (or meandean) please tell me a little more about the installer? I think I remember something in our discussions. Will have to slog through them again.
@fsmithred . . . I can put together an html page for the documentation with navigation to the sections at the top. I'd like to include:
1. updated release notes
2. included packages
3. applications not in the Debian repos (deadbeef etc)
4. complete list of non-standard tools and scripts (a short description of each might be useful and possibly grouping them according to related task)
5. update instructions for snapshot and installer and custom scripts
IMO, the menu, snapshot and installer screenies should be of a default refracta install without any tweaks. I will be happy to optimize them for the web - or are jpgs verboten?
As to wikipedia . . . I could give it a go if someone has a UN and PW I can use.
nadir

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## Re: Refracta wiki project

Thu Feb 14, 2013 11:38 pm

That is a tough one.
I recall this:
At a certain point there has been no way to install live-CD's (Debian).
MeanDean posted something "experimental" at forums debian.
I am quite sure that "someone" from mint had written an installer for liveCD's.
I can't search right now, and it is a tough search (experimental is good, Mint is good, installer is good).
Then MeanDean changed that installer. It was in python, i think, and the first versions of MeanDean were in python too.
That is pretty much all i remember. At least right now. I hope it helps a bit (perhaps it helps others to remember something).
nadir

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## Re: Refracta wiki project

Thu Feb 14, 2013 11:55 pm

Feel free to call me a master duck ...
http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?p=251623
which is about the mint installer.
And this one might be related too:
http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?p=271357
fsmithred

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## Re: Refracta wiki project

Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:14 am

1. Release Notes are mostly updated. Should be done soon.
2. List of packages is here - http://distro.ibiblio.org/refracta/test ... _beta9.txt
3. deadbeef and yad
4. stuff we wrote. Yeah, descriptions. They're gonna be short.
5. I'll look through the release notes and see what else needs tweaking.
I think the history was already described above, but maybe it was scattered. Here's the order, more or less...
Dean posted the commands to install a running live CD.
Dean put the commands in a simple bash script and Clem put the commands in a python/glade gui. (I don't know which came first or if it matters.)
Dean borrowed the python code and made his own installer.
I got the commands from Dean and put them in a bash script, first for pure debian-live, and then for refracta. I added some error checking, and I added some options, such as the ability to have more than one partition and to encrypt partitions.
And zenity was added for a graphical interface, so you could click through the choices instead of typing them in. Now Yad is supported (and preferred) along with Zenity.
Should probably mention that the installer supports both grub-legacy and grub2.

Code:
  `Synopsis of installation-
  Start the installer, choose Simple or Expert. Simple install puts the bootloader in the mbr of /dev/sda and lets you choose a single partition for the installation.
  Expert install opens a window with a checklist of options.
  Change user name
  Create a separate /home partition
  Create a separate /boot partition
  Encrypt the root filesystem (separate /boot required)
  Encrypt the /home partition (separate /home required)
  Write random data to encrypted partitions (more secure)
  Write zeroes to all partitions (to erase previous data)
  Do not install bootloader. I'll handle it myself.
  Use UUID in etc/fstab. (Useful if drive order changes.)
  Use filesystem labels (disk labels) in etc/fstab.
  Change hostname.
  Disable automatic login to desktop.
  Disable automatic login to console. (Use stock Debian inittab)
  Run the partitioner if you need to.
  Choose partition(s) and filesystem format(s) for installation.
  Enter information if requested (new host name, disk labels, passphrases for encryption)
  Sit back and watch for a few minutes.
  Enter new username and password, root password, edit etc/sudoers if desired.
  Reboot into the new installation.
  `

golinux

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## Re: Refracta wiki project

Fri Feb 15, 2013 3:52 am

@nadir . . . quack, quack . . .
@fsmithred . . . Great! That should about do it. I think the refractasnapshot.conf and snapshot_exclude.list should also be in the documentation section and linked from the wiki. Is the installation synopsis going to be included in the release notes? Can you do the same for snapshot? I'm going to review all the documentation tomorrow. Where can I find the latest versions?
meandean

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## Re: Refracta wiki project

Fri Feb 15, 2013 10:52 am

installer...
-Dean posted the commands to install a running live CD. Originally posted elsewhere, as BroTiag mentions...
-Dean put the commands in a simple bash script for a basic installer
-Later clem borrowed the commands, and wrapped a python/glade/gtk gui around them
(didnt realize that thread got a hit in 2012...and it saved his life...)
-Dean borrowed the python/glade/gtk gui code, changed it some with the help of nadir, and made the graphical refracta installer
-Later Dean realized the installer need to be more/different for various reasons or at least was getting antsy and wanted a change
-FSR came along (think we chatted in IRC mostly) and did a proper bash script and then later made it all graphical and fancy with extra options
of course I dont guess that matters for a quick descriptive blurb anyway but strolling down memory lane was fun
I forgot that refracta originally used the actual debian installer - the standard debian installer you start at boot...
Last edited by meandean on Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
fsmithred

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## Re: Refracta wiki project

Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:07 am

This link goes with the ones nadir posted above -
http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?t=18845
The snapshot tool is really just three commands -
rsync - make a copy of the filesystem
mksquashfs - squash the copy
mkisofs/genisoimage - put it into a bootable CD image file
The current installer is a little more complex than the list of commands in the link -
mke2fs & tune2fs - format patitions
mount and rsync - copy the system to disk
grub-install - install bootloader (optional)
usermod and visudo - change user and privileges (optional)
some other tweaks and edits to account for different settings between a live system and an installed system, or for things specific to refracta.
Copy of the release notes is now in the same testing folder as the package list and all the other new stuff.
I would rather keep the installer and snapshot instructions brief in the release notes and more extensive docs in /usr/share/doc.
ukbrian

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## Re: Refracta wiki project

Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:40 pm

I think you need a Yad .deb in the testing folder 32 and 64 bit?
fsmithred

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## Re: Refracta wiki project

Fri Feb 15, 2013 2:07 pm

The yad repo is in sources.list. I'm not sure if it's commented out right now or not.
Oh, and I just thought of two other things that are not from debian - youtube-viewer and grub-doctor. I guess there should be a section in the release notes that gives links for these extras.
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