I have been studying computer science for several years, learning
about Microsoft, B language or the man in the middle attack, without knowing
anything about UNIX and Linux, which is quite a shame. Before starting this
dissertation I had never been installing a Linux and I almost did not know how
to use it; this is exactly why I choose this subject.
A Linux mini-distribution guide has been for me a true mean of
getting into the Linux world. More than just understanding how to create a
distribution it has made me go through the different system concepts.
My initial plan was to make a distribution comparable to Knoppix (A
copy of it is joined to this dissertation) that would boot in one or two
minutes, detecting and configuring most common hardware, having hundreds of
applications, with a very heavy interface (KDE) and with all the
functionalities there are on regular non CD bootable distributions.
To begin this work, I have been spending a considerable time
installing a Linux, or should I say several distributions (Debian, Redhat and
Fedora, or even a Gentoo) in order to understand how to install them, how they
were working, what the differences were and which one I should choose.
After learning a few concepts, I started my researches to find out
how I could build a mini distribution; I understood very fast that the only
Linux From Scratch guide, the many HOWTOs about RAMDISKs, bootable CDs etc. and
the numerous incompletes Web Sites would be much more complex to assimilate and
put into practice.
If in my many attempts to reach the goal I wanted to achieve for
this mini distribution, the different “test” distributions I have been building
have not leaded to the result I wanted, it has taught me much more than I
thought.
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François MARCHAND