From: Ralph Ronnquist <rrq@rrq.au>
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2025 05:25:35 +0000 (+1000)
Subject: Refresh and clean up
X-Git-Url: https://git.rrq.au/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=HEAD;p=rrq%2Ftiniest.git

Refresh and clean up
---

diff --git a/README.adoc b/README.adoc
index d269b4d..a05e8c9 100644
--- a/README.adoc
+++ b/README.adoc
@@ -1,72 +1,74 @@
-= Project "tiniest"
+= Project "Rrq's Tiniest Devuan Excalibur OS"
 
-This project is an experiment of building a tiny linux boot system
-with a single, common syslinux boot configuration used for both legacy
-bios and UEFI bios.
+This project contains a script, `mkit.sh`, that based on Devuan's
+excalibur repository builds a tiny (32 Mb) bootable disk image,
+`bootimage.raw`, with just a Linux kernel and initrd to offer a
+minimal command line shell.
 
-The script +mkit.sh+ prepares such a +bootimage.raw+ and the script
-+vm.sh+ runs a Qemu VM for testing it.
+That "**Rrq's Tiniest Devuan Excalibur OS**" is intended to be a start
+point for someone with technical interest in the very first boot
+stages, as well as for someone who wish to set up their own OS/Desktop
+distribution without carrying much or any excess software.
 
-In addition, the script +packit.sh+ runs xorriso to prepare an ISO
-with that boot image, to boot either as cdrom for legacy bios or with
-EFI partition with for UEFI bios.
+The way to get it tiny is of course to rely on busybox-static which is
+a single binary that caters for a large range of "standard" commands
+depending on which (command) name it is invoked as. Other than using
+that, it is then a matter of only including the most important kernel
+modules.
 
-.Program/packages used by mkit.sh, vm.sh and packiso.sh
-----
-ar from binutils; gawk (as awk) from gawk; cat, chmod, cp, ln and rm
-from coreutils; depmod from kmod; fakeroot from fakeroot; find from
-findutils; mcopy, mkdir and mmd from mtools; mke2fs from e2fsprogs;
-mkfs.fat from dosfstools; sed from sed; sfdisk from fdisk; syslinux
-from syslinux; tar from tar; wget from wget; xzcat from xz-utils;
-qemu-system-x86_64 from qemu-system-x86; and xorriso from xorriso
-----
+This project also contains a few other scripts, in particular `vm.sh`
+for running a Qemu virtual machine to trial either `bootimage.raw` in
+its alternative bios use cases, and `packiso.sh` which prepares a
+bootable hybrid ISO with `bootimage.raw` and more.
 
-* Kernel version +$VERSION+ is obtained from the linux-image-amd64
-  dependency.
+The interested developer/explorer would start by investigating, and
+probably tuning, the steps of the `mkit.sh` script so as to compose
+their own special disk image. As is, the script prepared a disk image
+that includes boot equipments both for legacy bios boot and for UEFI
+bios boot. Both of the boot equipments are deployments of syslinux
+boot software that arekept together in the first disk image partition
+with an EFI/FAT file system. The disk image also has a empty `ext4`
+partition that may be extended to becomve a larger, second stage root
+file system.
 
-.Downloaded packages
-----
-busybox-static linux-image-$VERSION
-syslinux syslinux-common syslinux-efi syslinux-utils isolinux
-----
+The script +packiso.sh+ runs xorriso to prepare a bootable ISO with the boot
+image as an alternative, El Torito boot option.
+
+.List of program/packages used by mkit.sh, vm.sh and packiso.sh
+[caption=""]
+====
+* ar from binutils
+* cat, chmod, cp, ln and rm from coreutils
+* depmod from kmod fakeroot from fakeroot
+* find from findutils
+* gawk (as awk) from gawk
+* mcopy, mkdir and mmd from mtools
+* mke2fs from e2fsprogs
+* mkfs.fat from dosfstools
+* qemu-system-x86_64 from qemu-system-x86
+* sed from sed
+* sfdisk from fdisk
+* syslinux from syslinux
+* tar from tar
+* wget from wget
+* xorriso from xorriso
+* xzcat from xz-utils
+====
 
 '''
 
-.Hown to build bootimage.raw
+.How to build `bootimage.raw`
 ----
 $ ./mkit.sh
 ----
-Note that building will use +http_proxy+ if it's set.
+Note that it uses +http_proxy+ if that is set.
 
 .How to package bootimage.raw into tiniest.iso
 ----
 $ ./packiso.sh
 ----
 
-'''
-
-.How to test hard disk legacy bios boot
+.How to test 
 ----
 $ ./vm.sh
 ----
-Then push <escape> to select boot device menu; number 2 is
-+bootimage.raw+.
-
-.How to test cdrom legacy bios boot
-----
-$ ISO=y ./vm.sh
-----
-Then push <escape> to select boot device menu; number 4 is
-+tiniest.iso+.
-
-.How to test hard disk UEFI bios boot
-----
-$ EFI=yes ./vm.sh
-----
-Note that this uses +bootimage.raw+ as second disk.
-
-.How to test cdrom UEFI bios boot
-----
-$ EFI=yes ISO=y ./vm.sh
-----
-Note that this uses +tiniest.iso+ as second disk.