ToDo List for the Boot Floppies Package

Packages needed currently from Incoming:

  dpkg
  apt

Not yet but soon:

  kernel-image-2.2.15 (plus flavors, plus pcmcia)


URGENT TASKS
------------

- [2000.05.15] "configure drivers" fails if you have done "configure
  pcmcia" first.

- [2000.04.21] copy /var/log/messages to /target/var/log/install.log
  prior to reboot

- [2000.05.15] dialog box msg for "harddisk" option is very obscure

- [SPARC] - work on documentation for NFSROOT and NFS installs

- [POWERPC] - Newt misbehaving

NORMAL TASKS
------------

- [2000.04.09 - POWERPC]
    Prep bootdisks without a complete kernel recompile - I'm fairly sure
    this is doable.

- [2000.02.04, karlheg] Document disk space requirements, memory
  requirements, and the changes that have been made to `bootconfig.c'.

  IDEA: Put in ifdef'd code to log du and free at strategic points
  throughout the installation.

- [11/21/1999] i18n of boot-floppies -- this include dbootstrap msgs, 
  console fonts, keyboard config, syslinux fonts (i386), etc etc.
  STATUS: Michael S. has a working version of this in 
          utilities/language-chooser; Hartmut Koptein is reviewing 
          this for flaws and considering moving this into the
          dbootstrap dir or subdir
  DISPOSITION: I don't think we'll have internationalized
               boot-floppies for potato at this point


- [2000.02.06, karlheg] The common routines from busybox and
  dbootstrap are beginning to diverge.  There are bugfixes in the
  busybox version that are not in the dbootstrap ones.  I don't know
  if the errors are stressed and triggered in dbootstrap.

- [2000.02.27, karlheg] The gui stuff in net-fetch needs to be pulled
  out and put into boxes.c.  libbowl (or whatever we decide to use)
  will need to implement the similar for the graphical version.

- [02/06/2000, karlheg] dbootstrap.h: Rip out the common functions
  from dbootstrap and busybox, and turn them into a shared library.

- [01/26/2000, tausq] (?) verify that installs onto /dev/ida/* and /dev/rd/* 
  work

- [01/26/2000, tausq] for a machine without network interfaces, dbootstrap
  doesn't let you assign a hostname

- [01/26/2000, tausq] busybox doesn't umount devices cleanly on reboot. if a
  device is busy it should remount it ro before reboot
  UPDATE: I believe I now have this fixed.  Please test!
    -andersee,  Feb. 8, 2000

- [01/26/2000, joeyh] utilities/dbootstrap/bootconfig.c has some ifdef'd
  out tests in make_bootable(). These tests should be done (the user could
  end up with an unbootable system with no indication why in some rare
  circumstances without them), but as they are currently implmented, they
  require that Root->disk->name be initialized. Currently, it never is.

- [10/30/1998, joey] The user should only be queried once for the
  cd-rom path if the path that was provided at the first place
  matches the need at the second place, too. Ditto for other media.
  Is the /dev/cdrom link created now?

- [11/20/1998, ezanard] PLIP support
  UPDATE: right now, parport_pc module is broken in the kernel, 
          see Bug#55383

- [10/30/1998, ezanard, joey] Modify on boxes.c so that the dialog
  boxes resize themselves.  As the messages have different lenghts
  for the different translations, this is a must-have for the
  translated floppies. Also take care of the current screen size
  (start linux with vga=ask and use 132x44 for example).
  (PARTIALLY DONE on boot-floppies_2.1.1. It still assumes a 80x25
  screen size).
  QUERY: still critical?

- [10/30/1998, ezanard] Implement an "install on a loop filesystem"
  option. UPDATE 01/10/1999: dbootstrap recognizes a mounted loop fs, and
  we can use it as the target filesystem. Support for swap files,
  creating/mounting loop filesystems from the UI, and creating/modifying
  initramdisk from the UI is still missing.

- [10/30/1998, ezanard] Read more data from the boot prompt
  (keyboard language, source medium, network config, ... eventually
  everything may be provided from the boot prompt. That makes an
  unattended installation trivial, one just write the proper
  syslinux.cfg file and there it goes...)
  UPDATE: The boot command line is limited to 256 bytes. We'll have to
  use a config file instead.

- [10/30/1998, joey] Provide easy targets for boot floppies in
  non-english languages.  Currently 'es' is ready, 'de' is on the
  way.[1]

- [03/06/1999, ezanard] Add a "wizard-like" tool for disk
  partitioning/formatting.
  COMMENT: adam thinks this should not be taken up by boot-floppies,
           but would be an independant effort.
  COMMENT: [karlheg] What's wrong with cfdisk?  Red Hat has a thing
           called "Disk Druid" written using NEWT.  Will it fit on our
           root.bin disk?  Could it become part of `dbootstrap'?

- [DBOOTS]
  * remove the losetup stuff and call mount -o loop instead
    STATUS: Fixed all the build scripts.  -andersee Jan 22, 2000
    Still need to fix dbootstrap.
    UPDATE: This will require mucking around with some other code, namely
    the /dev/ram stuff, which is intermixed. Save it for woody.

LONG TERM TASKS
---------------

- [10/30/1998, joey] Provide a debug program for each and every
  dialog box - can also be used to provide screen shots of the
  installation.  This includes some fiddling with internal
  settings. (long term todo) (PARTIALLY DONE on boot-floppies_2.1.1.
  There are some debug programs missing. Check
  utilities/dbootstrap/Makefile for the details)

- [11/18/1998, ezanard] Extract the config steps (kbdconfig, tzconfig,
  netconfig, pcmcia-config, ...) into stand-alone tools. Move them to
  the proper packages (kbdconfig -> kbd, tzconfig -> timezones, ...)
  or create new packages for them, so that they are available anytime,
  not only at installation time.
  COMMENT: [karlheg] I think it's better for it to remain in one
           binary, but make `dbootstrap', like `busybox', take on a
           different role when called via a hard link.  This will keep
           the overall disk space requirements down and save us a lot
           of ifdeffing to make it build several ways.

- [11/17/1998, kop] support for zip and ls-120 medias

- [11/17/1998, kop] graphical setup with framebuffer / X11
  The new framebuffer concept from linux-2.2 does not support
  only X11, with the ggi-lib it is also possible to have
  'svgalib'-compatibility on all architectures

- [01/10/1999, ezanard] Remove liloconfig code from dbootstrap. Jast call
  the new "liloconfig" script on the LILO package (Run it from the base
  system. "chrooted" perhaps?).
  COMMENT: [aph] Not sure this is a good idea; woody should use grub
                 and we should perhaps focus on that?

- [02/19/1999, ezanard] Add Tom Lees' PnP support.

- [02/19/1999, ezanard] (following a suggestion by Vincent Renardias).
  The "fsresize" package can be used to defragment and resize FAT
  partitions. What about using that on the boot-floppies?
  UPDATE: fsresize only works on i386 right now and doesn't really take
  care of most of the work. However, parted is much better since it
  handles every aspect of moving, resizing, creating a removing
  partitions. It too only works on msdos partition tables right now, but
  maybe we can push to help get other tables supported (it's pretty
  modular in this setup, so it is just a matter of plugging in the right
  inof).

[1] If you want to translate the system into another language, read the
    README-Translators file. If you still has doubts, ask on
    debian-boot@lists.debian.org, or get in touch with err... Hartmut
    Koptein (hee hee) or me (Martin Schulze). I would prefer Hartmut while
    I'm sure that he would prefer to contact me... You chose.
