Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 13:27:36 +0100
From: Natanael Copa <ncopa@alpinelinux.org>
To: "Leslie P. Polzer | PORT ZERO" <polzer@port-zero.com>
Cc: alpine-devel@lists.alpinelinux.org
Subject: Re: [alpine-devel] alpine-iso: USBIMG vs isohybrid
Message-ID: <20131119132736.0636fb6b@ncopa-desktop.alpinelinux.org>
In-Reply-To: <528A40E8.2020803@port-zero.com>
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On Mon, 18 Nov 2013 17:31:36 +0100
"Leslie P. Polzer | PORT ZERO" <polzer@port-zero.com> wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> is there a specific reason for the USBIMG section in the
> Makefile? A simpler alternative would be running isohybrid
> on the built ISO image.
> 
>   Leslie
> 

Yes. The problem is that vfat does not support resize. We store apkvols
and often the apk cache on the USB stick so you normally want use the
available space on the USB. As i understand isohybrid, we can create an
additional fat partition but it will be fixed to the size of the
smallest supported usb.

The reason we prefer FAT is that it makes it easy to copy apkovl to the
boot usb to and from Windows.

Also, i don't think may actually boot the ISO so we just use it as a
container, like tar.gz, but the ISO format has some advantages:
- you can boot it directly in a virtual machine
- you can 'unzip' it with 7zip and similar tools
- you can burn it (for those who actually use cdrom)

But I agree that it would be nice to make it simpler for users to
create bootable USB. I am open to ideas.

-nc


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