Hi,
when I use grml (the live cd), there are a few tasks that I do quite often directly after boot. For example, loading keyboard layout (always), configuring non-dhcp network (sometimes) or starting X or running grml-info for looking something up (rarely).
Using cheatcodes for configuring it does not "help", since I have to type the kernel name first, and sometimes I am not even there when it boots (I give the CD to the friend/relative that has problems and tell him that he should boot from it until I am back, and just press Return when "an image of a huge keyboard" appears).
So, I'd like to write a script (grml-quickconfig) started at bootup on console 1 that shows a nice screen (with highlighted letters) that allows to do things like that by pressing a single key; the Return key will exit it. Like:
Welcome to GRML. Press one of the highlighted keys. Press Return to exit this menu.
Configure keyboard language: [d]e [a]t [c]h Configure your [n]etwork card. Show [i]nformation Start [x]
d: grml-lang de a: grml-lang at c: grml-lang ch n: netcardconfig i: grml-info x: grml-x (asking for the windowmanager)
Windowmanager would be (taken from the completion menu):
[d]wm [e]vilwm [f]luxbox f[v]wm fvwm[2] fvwm-[c]rystal ion[3] [j]wm pe[k]wm [p]wm3 [r]atpoison [t]wm w[9]wm [w]indowlab w[m]i wm[i]i wm-[n]g
I guess even for people that type really fast this is an improvement (if not, it requires a single keystroke to get out) - and even better for those that cannot type that fast (typing »su grml -c 'grml-x fluxbox'« is a bit more than typing »xf«).
The main question now is if something like that would be included into grml and if yes, what other things to add to it (there are still some keys "free").
Michael
PS: Recently I tried the "soundtest" script (I wanted to test if a sound card is supported by Linux) and unfortunately it worked... Unfortunately because it got me into a discussion about bad pronunciation of English. I don't want to say that my English pronunciation is much better, but if any native English speaker could re-record the sample file, it would be great. In the meantime, I'm going to use the emacspeak intro sound for such tests...
* Mark 27e3kk302@sneakemail.com [20070127 22:15]:
if yes, what other things to add to it
# swapoff -a (because 'noswap' cheatcode does not yet work on grml usb|ide hard drive systems)
No, as this applies for harddisk installations only.
Please handle such stuff on your own as long as it's not part of Debian, see http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=388525
regards, -mika-
Please handle such stuff on your own as long as it's not part of Debian, see http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=388525
Thanks, I was aware, but wrong, "swapoff -a" is part of Debian. (The wish-list item is a boot cheatcode which grml CD-ROM offers despite non-official status.)
The "mobile hard drive" or "mobile flash stick" scenarios benefit from identical capabilities as CD-ROM. Different behaviors are confusing. If we wanted exact Debian, we would install it. What we want is grml CD-ROM behavior :-).
The "swapoff -a" command works the same from CD or USB. The grml CD hunts down and mounts all swap by default. Whether a user wants swap on or off is not predictable, so the option would help. I sometimes even forget when swap is on and then kick myself for not turning it off at login.
Thanks,
M
* Mark 27e3kk302@sneakemail.com [20070128 02:15]:
Please handle such stuff on your own as long as it's not part of Debian, see http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=388525
Thanks, I was aware, but wrong, "swapoff -a" is part of Debian. (The wish-list item is a boot cheatcode which grml CD-ROM offers despite non-official status.)
Hm, what do you mean with "swapoff -a is part of Debian"?
The "mobile hard drive" or "mobile flash stick" scenarios benefit from identical capabilities as CD-ROM. Different behaviors are confusing. If we wanted exact Debian, we would install it. What we want is grml CD-ROM behavior :-).
Well, not all cheatcodes from grml make sense on hd installations. And the ones that would make sense but are not yet available should become part of main Debian - if possible, that's why #388525 exists. :)
The "swapoff -a" command works the same from CD or USB. The grml CD hunts down and mounts all swap by default.
Huh?! http://grml.org/files/README-0.9.php =>
| swap partitions: by default grml does not automatically use swap | partitions anymore. Run 'grml-swapon' when running grml or boot | using 'grml swap' for enabling all detected and usable swap | partitions.
Whether a user wants swap on or off is not predictable, so the option would help. I sometimes even forget when swap is on and then kick myself for not turning it off at login.
Ok, I'll think about integration of grml-swapon as soon as I can test the new script. :)
regards, -mika-
Hm, what do you mean with "swapoff -a is part of Debian"?
The command works in Debian now, it's not a wish-list item.
Huh?! http://grml.org/files/README-0.9.php =>
OK. Over several months we've observed anomalous behaviors for swap, tmpfs, etc. We'll double check the latest grml.
As far as cheatcodes making sense for CDROM vs. hard drive, we see few diffs (but some of course). Mobile USB for us is just a read-write version of live CD with more software capacity and easier data persistence across boots. So it's not the same as the usual hard drive installation to fixed workstation.
We've previously discussed the lack of / need for a mobile user model in Linux, astride the usual server, workstation concepts. Devices and computing capacity are growing exponentially while 40-year-old *nix assumptions still slow Linux a little from filling these niches. There are many more user models than stable server (i.e. Debian stable) and desktop workstation (i.e. fixed hard disk PC install). Live CD is one of the new ones! ;-) So is ours. Grml has been a big help pushing it forward!
M
* Michael Schierl schierlm@gmx.de [20070127 20:21]:
when I use grml (the live cd), there are a few tasks that I do quite often directly after boot. For example, loading keyboard layout (always), configuring non-dhcp network (sometimes) or starting X or running grml-info for looking something up (rarely).
[...]
So, I'd like to write a script (grml-quickconfig) started at bootup on console 1 that shows a nice screen (with highlighted letters) that allows to do things like that by pressing a single key; the Return key will exit it. Like:
Welcome to GRML. Press one of the highlighted keys. Press Return to exit this menu.
Configure keyboard language: [d]e [a]t [c]h Configure your [n]etwork card. Show [i]nformation Start [x]
d: grml-lang de a: grml-lang at c: grml-lang ch n: netcardconfig
Hm, grml-network instead of netcardconfig would be a better choise.
i: grml-info x: grml-x (asking for the windowmanager)
grml-x shouldn't be run as root, JFYI ;)
Windowmanager would be (taken from the completion menu):
[...]
I guess even for people that type really fast this is an improvement (if not, it requires a single keystroke to get out) - and even better for those that cannot type that fast (typing »su grml -c 'grml-x fluxbox'« is a bit more than typing »xf«).
Well, alt-f5 + 'grml-x fl<tab>' works too ;)
The main question now is if something like that would be included into grml
grml has the policy to finish booting without a single keystroke. But if it's a plain script (without ncurses dialog so the bootscreen remains!) we could use it right on zsh invocation on tty1 if someone has to press just enter to skip it.
Nice idea! I'd like to see that in action.
and if yes, what other things to add to it (there are still some keys "free").
Hm, grml2hd?
PS: Recently I tried the "soundtest" script (I wanted to test if a sound card is supported by Linux) and unfortunately it worked... Unfortunately because it got me into a discussion about bad pronunciation of English. I don't want to say that my English pronunciation is much better, but if any native English speaker could re-record the sample file, it would be great. In the meantime, I'm going to use the emacspeak intro sound for such tests...
*hehe* This recording was done in a coffee break by Jimmy and me. I'm the one with the sucking pronunciation, so send all your flames into my direction. ;) If someone can produce a better recording feel free to hand it to me. I'd be happy if don't have to hear my own voice. ;) But please notice that the pronunciation of the word 'grml' itself is quite ok. :)
BTW: you can use
flite -o play -t "harhar"
for soundtesting too.
regards, -mika-
Michael Prokop schrieb:
Hm, grml-network instead of netcardconfig would be a better choise.
I added both, since grml-network sometimes hangs for a few seconds while checking the network status (and does not provide a cancel button).
grml-x shouldn't be run as root, JFYI ;)
I know.
I guess even for people that type really fast this is an improvement (if not, it requires a single keystroke to get out) - and even better for those that cannot type that fast (typing »su grml -c 'grml-x fluxbox'« is a bit more than typing »xf«).
Well, alt-f5 + 'grml-x fl<tab>' works too ;)
I used this as well. But most of the time i just forget to switch consoles between grml-lang and grml-x, so it does not work (and I have to retry). Having it both in one menu is easier :)
The main question now is if something like that would be included into grml
grml has the policy to finish booting without a single keystroke.
Which is good (since you don't have to be present while it boots).
But if it's a plain script (without ncurses dialog so the bootscreen remains!) we could use it right on zsh invocation on tty1 if someone has to press just enter to skip it.
It does not use ncurses, but uses some linux-console specific escape sequences (that work on screen as well). And yes, it preserves the scrollback buffer.
For skipping, now both "q" and enter work, because I tried to quit it with "q" myself a few times (although I have written it...)
Nice idea! I'd like to see that in action.
See the attached file. Tested on grml-0.9 with both framebuffer and vga console.
and if yes, what other things to add to it (there are still some keys "free").
Hm, grml2hd?
Added.
I got a private mail asking me whether to use pdmenu instead. My answer is no, since pdmenu uses ncurses, and requires two keystrokes to run a command. On the other hand, its predefined menu (which uses the Debian menu tools) is nice since it contains lots of console tools, so I added pdmenu (which is already present on grml) to the tools list as well.
Michael
Michael Prokop schrieb:
Hm, grml-network instead of netcardconfig would be a better choise.
I added both, since grml-network sometimes hangs for a few seconds while checking the network status (and does not provide a cancel button).
grml-x shouldn't be run as root, JFYI ;)
I know.
I guess even for people that type really fast this is an improvement (if not, it requires a single keystroke to get out) - and even better for those that cannot type that fast (typing »su grml -c 'grml-x fluxbox'« is a bit more than typing »xf«).
Well, alt-f5 + 'grml-x fl<tab>' works too ;)
I used this as well. But most of the time i just forget to switch consoles between grml-lang and grml-x, so it does not work (and I have to retry). Having it both in one menu is easier :)
The main question now is if something like that would be included into grml
grml has the policy to finish booting without a single keystroke.
Which is good (since you don't have to be present while it boots).
But if it's a plain script (without ncurses dialog so the bootscreen remains!) we could use it right on zsh invocation on tty1 if someone has to press just enter to skip it.
It does not use ncurses, but uses some linux-console specific escape sequences (that work on screen as well). And yes, it preserves the scrollback buffer.
For skipping, now both "q" and enter work, because I tried to quit it with "q" myself a few times (although I have written it...)
Nice idea! I'd like to see that in action.
See the attached file. Tested on grml-0.9 with both framebuffer and vga console.
and if yes, what other things to add to it (there are still some keys "free").
Hm, grml2hd?
Added.
I got a private mail asking me whether to use pdmenu instead. My answer is no, since pdmenu uses ncurses, and requires two keystrokes to run a command. On the other hand, its predefined menu (which uses the Debian menu tools) is nice since it contains lots of console tools, so I added pdmenu (which is already present on grml) to the tools list as well.
Michael
* Michael Schierl schierlm-public@gmx.de [20070128 17:55]:
Michael Prokop schrieb:
[...]
But if it's a plain script (without ncurses dialog so the bootscreen remains!) we could use it right on zsh invocation on tty1 if someone has to press just enter to skip it.
It does not use ncurses, but uses some linux-console specific escape sequences (that work on screen as well). And yes, it preserves the scrollback buffer.
For skipping, now both "q" and enter work, because I tried to quit it with "q" myself a few times (although I have written it...)
Nice idea! I'd like to see that in action.
See the attached file. Tested on grml-0.9 with both framebuffer and vga console.
Very cute! Thanks a lot, Michael. I'm just working on grml 0.9-2, I'll add the script to the home-directory of user root so everyone can test it in action. I'll work on smooth integration post 0.9-2 then.
regards, -mika-
participants (4)
-
Mark -
Michael Prokop -
Michael Schierl -
Michael Schierl