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  • From: James Miller <jamtat AT mailsnare.net>
  • To: baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [BL] Usefull software for BasicLinux?
  • Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2005 09:11:52 -0600 (CST)

On Wed, 2 Nov 2005, Markus Laire wrote:

On 11/2/05, David Moberg <davidjmoberg AT gmail.com> wrote:
On 11/1/05, Markus Laire <markus AT laire.info> wrote:

Also - is BL3.32 good for this kind of project or should I consider
something else? (BL1, BL2, something totally different)?

It really depends on what you want. If you use Slackware 4 packages
with 7.1 kernels, you will come closest to a standard BL3 configuration.
You will be able to do about as much as you can without touching a
compiler or compromising memory requirements. However, you will see
some limitations. New hardware will not work with your distribution. And
you will not be able to take advantage of bugfixes and features which
have been released since those Slackwares were released. (Except
for binaries which you can find online.) But if that is what you want, it
will work fine.

For this project, I don't care too much if newer hardware doesn't work
- I just want to get as comprehensive linux as possible for those
computers where newer distributions won't work.

I've been waiting for Steven to weigh in on this topic, but since he's not done so, I will pipe in.

Each version of BL has its pros and cons. BL1 and BL3 work better for the oldest machines--486sx and down to 386--depending on RAM and copro presence/absence and whether a gui is desired (something like 16MB RAM plus copro for gui on a 386). BL3 is best for easily getting a gui--that is if your video hardware is compatible with Xvesa. But even if not, there an xsvga package put together by Steven that can handle alot of non-Xvesa-friendly cards. Adding a gui to BL1 and BL2 is a bit more involved.

Whichever of them you use, you should include some things from the relevant Slackware version on which they're based. The most frequently-needed thing is NIC modules. So, if you use BL1, include the NIC modules from Slack 3.5; if you use BL2 the modules from Slack 7.1; if BL3 modules from Slack 7.1 (BL3 uses the Slack 7.1 kernel, but Slack 4.0 libraries). In fact, you might want to include _all_ kernel modules, in case someone wants to set up some variant hardware. You should probably include the relevant bare.i kernel as well, since BL's custom-compiled kernels aren't capable of certain tasks. If you want to give folks the ability to set up Xwindows, you should include the various xservers from either Slack 3.5 (BL1), Slack 7.1 (BL2), or Slack 4.0 (BL3).

A fair amount of software has been custom compiled for BL--especially for BL3. Some of it is compiled statically--i.e., all relevant libraries are compiled into the package. These pieces of software are located at various places: Steven has an add-ons site, I have one, Sindi hosts some packages, as do David and Ron. So, if you can tell us which BL you end up wanting to use, we can direct you to the appropriate download site(s) for custom-compiled packages. Be aware that many Delilinux packages are compatible with BL2, so that is a place to look for extra programs if you go with BL2.

I'd like to support even 8086, but that might not be possible.
(ELKS http://elks.sourceforge.net/ is still in development)

That project has been in development for a good, long time. And in fact it ceased developing a good long while ago. I think it's moribund. The only possible hope I can see for running Linux on 286 and below might be using some sort of embedded Linux--presuming it's kernel is for the x86 architecture and not ARM or something like that. But even alot of embedded systems are now quite a bit more powerful than the 286 and below. It seems interest in the 286 is virtually nil and has been for some time in the Linux world, and not even the 386 or 486 are considered viable platforms anymore. At least in the US you can't even _give_ away a 486. Same holds true for first generation Pentium, and I used to turn up P2's in the dumpster as well.

Over and out, James




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