How modules are built

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http://www.slax.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17816

I'm just curious, how collective modules are build?

Intrinsically and naively, I'm thinking that you just keep a list of apps that you should put into it, and all the dependent libs, then do tgz2dir on each package into the same directory, then dir2lzm to build the module. I think over 90% of the modules could be build this way, again intrinsically and naively thinking. Is that so?

How modules are built

you got the concept right, tho' I would bet that

installpkg -root /otherroot

is probably used, "ROOT=/otherroot removepkg" help maintain and upgrade modules ….

the "list" to include into a "collective module" is probably based on the author's specific knowledge and experience … which is more often above and beyond the basics of module/package dependencies.

IMHO, the squashfs compressed linux filesystem is better than the .tgz or .zip package distributions as it is "ready to use" with a mount command and does not require the extra room to decompress …. I archive everything into modules these days (many years ago I used LZH, then ZIP, now squashfs) … no need for my data to be in tar or zip files …. as I will ALWAYS have a linux cd with me!

documented on: Jun 09, 2007, Guest

modules building example

Download tcl related packages from ftp://ftp.slackware.no/linux/slackware/slackware-current/slackware/tcl/
Create temp dir
```
mkdir /tmp/tcl
```

Install tcl-8.4.14-i486-1.tgz

installpkg -root /tmp/tcl tcl-8.4.14-i486-1.tgz

Install tk-8.4.14-i486-1.tgz, following the same procedure.
```
installpkg -root /tmp/tcl tk-8.4.14-i486-1.tgz
```
Another example following the same procedure, installing expect.
```
installpkg -root /tmp/tcl expect-5.43.0-i486-1.tgz
```
Build the lzm module.

dir2lzm /tmp/tcl 996_devel_tcl-8.4.14-i486-1_tk-8.4.14-i486-1_expect-5.43.0-i486-1.lzm

Check the built lzm module.
```
unsquashfs -ls !$ | less
```

Test the built lzm module.

uselivemod 996_devel_tcl-8.4.14-i486-1_tk-8.4.14-i486-1_expect-5.43.0-i486-1.lzm

Done testing, or start anther build-and-test loop again. Use the unuselivemod from http://www.slax.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=82429#82429
```
unuselivemod !$
```

documented on: 2007.06.14, xpt

How Slax modules are built

	Intrinsically and naively, I'm thinking that you just keep a list of apps that you should put into it, and all the dependent libs, then do tgz2dir on each package into the same directory, then dir2lzm to build the module.
	-- xpt

Kind of … Slax is built a little bit differently:

setup /mnt/union
add a writeble branch to the union so all new files will go to 001-core/ directory
install all packages for 001-core to /mnt/union
add another writable branch, so all new files and all modifications of existing files goes to 002-apps directory
install all packages for 002-apps to /mnt/union again
add third writable branch to the union, make it store all new and modified files to 003-network directory
install all the mentioned packages (I keep list of packages needed for every 'branch') into /mnt/union again.

etc…

Finally the union is unmounted and all the distinct directories like 001-core etc are mksquashfsed.

	I think over 90% of the modules could be build this way, again intrinsically and naively thinking. Is that so?
	-- xpt

Maybe 90%, but never 100%. The problem is that many TGZ packages require to 'chroot' the virtual root directory, so if you install the package to /tmp/your_package_root/ then the package may expect there is already something installed (which is not). An example of this are all the fonts packages from Slackware-current - they require mkfontdir and mkfontscale binary to exist in the target destination where you install them. This is perfectly OK if you install the package to your ROOT (/), but will not work if you do tgz2dir.

documented on: Jun 09, 2007, Tomas