lightweight apps, development

[LM]

Ran across mention of Swift Linux at Distrowatch.  I'm currently setting up Debian Linux from the netinst CD and a lot of sneaker-netting.  (It's taking me a lot longer to try to get all my hardware working properly than it did on Windows.)  Tried Debian Mint before I put Debian Squeeze from netinst on my machine (since our local Linux users group recommends Mint highly).  However, it froze when I tried to run the live CD.  Debian is one of the few distributions that hasn't frozen or crashed when I intall it on my desktop machine.

 

Would be very curious as to what lightweight applications others are running and would love to compare notes on that subject.  There are several lightweight applications I personally like in the Debian archives, but there are several that aren't available that I'm ending up having to build from scratch.  In case anyone's interested, here's a list of mostly lightweight applications that I like:  http://www.distasis.com/cpp/osrclist.htm

 

Am currently running Openbox rather than IceWM and would be curious to know how performance compares between the two.  As far as appearance, I happen to like the empty desktop and usually have several urxvt windows open.  For some applications, I won't even bother to run them in X and prefer logging straight into a command line session. 

 

Read a mention that Linux Swift needs more developers.  Would be curious as to what that entails.  I have a project of my own I'm currently working on, but if any of the work overlaps with what's needed for Linux Swift, would be happy to share code/resources.

 

[Patrick Anderson]

Hi LM,

I'm also interested in "best of breed" Free Software for
resource-constrained hardware.

I also start with the Debian or UBUNTU netinst.

The little bit of code is at http://github.com/AGNUcius/GNUnix

You might also check what these guys are using:

http://TinyCoreLinux.com
http://DamnSmallLinux.org
http://PuppyLinux.com


Patrick Anderson
http://SocialSufficiencyCoalition.BlogSpot.com

[LM]

On Wednesday, May 30, 2012 8:32:03 AM UTC-4, Patrick Anderson wrote:

The little bit of code is at http://github.com/AGNUcius/GNUnix

 

That's a nice idea.  I've been making lots of notes on changes, but haven't had a chance to document, let alone script or store the files for any of it online.

 

You might also check what these guys are using:

http://TinyCoreLinux.com

I've been trying out some of the fltk applications from TinyCoreLinux.  Those are some of the applications that aren't in the Debian archive and need to be compiled from scratch.  I also tried out some applications from the Equinox Desktop Environment.  There's also a list of fltk applications at http://www.fltk.org/links.php?LC+P22+Q  I usually check the applications at various GUI library sites.  For instance, a nice list of SDL based applications is available at http://www.libsdl.org/applications.php

 

[Patrick Anderson]

> several that aren't available that I'm
> ending up having to build from scratch.

Yes, I do that a bit, but we need a better
way to 'capture' and preserve that work
so that others can enjoy the same...

For a very long time I have been wanting
a better way to make simple 'recipes' for
those scattered applications.

I tried using gentoo.org for a while, thinking
'ebuild' was exactly what I needed.

But after too much struggle, I finally gave-
up on that amazing but difficult distro.

> In case anyone's interested, here's a list of mostly lightweight
> applications that I like:  http://www.distasis.com/cpp/osrclist.htm

Wow, that is extensive. I'm very far behind ;)

> Am currently running Openbox rather than IceWM

I've settled on IceWM for the (maybe silly
to some) reason that I know how to assign
the 'Windows' key to open the 'Start' menu.

I want to make a desktop that competes in
performance against Windows XP, and want
the keyboard shortcuts to do what the user
expects if they have used Windows before.



A longer-term goal that I have thought about
for quite a while, but do not have any code
for is "Install And Launch When Attempted".


The high-level view of IALWA is a Start-Menu
filled with all the applications you could ever
possibly install, but not yet actually installed.

There would be no separate package-manager
because the Start-Menu seamlessly manages
packages and launches those same programs.

Each entry might be slightly greyed-out if the
app is not yet installed.

I envision the icons, reviews, screenshots,
and other heavy data could be retrieved over
the network (and cached) when the user
pauses over that menu entry.

Once the user tries to use that program, the
package-manager would be invoked to install
that package and any dependencies, and then
the program would be launched, and the menu
entry would be updated to show it is installed.

Right-clicking the menu-entry would allow the
user to uninstall or configure or complain about
bugs or suggest new features, or go to an
online forum, etc.

The window-manager should also be enhanced
to add another button (maybe a '+') that would
be another way to access the features given
when right-clicking the menu-entry.

A global configuration file would contain settings
such as "prompt before install", "uninstall app
after X days of disuse", "sort menu entries
by popularity", etc.



Patrick Anderson
http://SocialSufficiencyCoalition.BlogSpot.com

[LM]

On Wednesday, May 30, 2012 12:00:00 PM UTC-4, Patrick Anderson wrote:

> several that aren't available that I'm
> ending up having to build from scratch.

Yes, I do that a bit, but we need a better
way to 'capture' and preserve that work
so that others can enjoy the same...

 

Funny you should mention that, because that's exactly the project I'm working on.  I'm tired of having to rebuild the same apps over and over when something gets updated and trying to remember what patches I applied. 

 

I tried using gentoo.org for a while, thinking
'ebuild' was exactly what I needed.

But after too much struggle, I finally gave-
up on that amazing but difficult distro.

 

I started with Slackbuilds in Linux and I liked the concept, but wanted something cross-platform.  I ported spkg to Windows and was going to try using Slackbuilds on the various systems I run.  The other thing I wanted was something template based, so you only change the code that's unique to building the program, not the rest of the code needed to build it.  As I started coding and testing with different programs, I diverged from the Slackbuild system somewhat.  I have build scripts, install and uninstall scripts coded in bash.  Would also like to get them working in jscript and/or server side javascript if bash isn't easily available on a platform.  I have a couple more layers I need to add over the current ones for handling dependencies and distributing programs.  It's pretty workable for being able to build something in an automated manner as is, but the final design is still in flux.  End result will hopefully be an easy way to build and get lightweight applications to the various computers I use and to be able to create a CD or DVD of lightweight cross-platform educational applications for organizations like schoolforge.net.  I was thinking of building the Linux version using LSB so it might work on multiple Linux distributions.

 

Wow, that is extensive.  I'm very far behind ;)

 

I saw some of the software listed at http://patware.freeshell.org/ which was linked in your profile.  Very impressive. I like a lot of the same apps.  Found some listed I hadn't tried yet, that I look forward to attempting to compile.

 

I've settled on IceWM for the (maybe silly
to some) reason that I know how to assign
the 'Windows' key to open the 'Start' menu.

 

I really don't use the menus much.  I'm typically at a command line typing in the name.

 

I want to make a desktop that competes in
performance against Windows XP, and want
the keyboard shortcuts to do what the user
expects if they have used Windows before.

 

Have you looked at razor-qt and Equinox Desktop Environment?  Not saying they're the answer, but they are light-weight and may have some useful functionality.  Would like to find a desktop with the look of Luna Silver for Windows XP.  I like the idea of customizing the keys to whatever functions a user wants.  I have Openbox set so that Window-D shrinks apps like on Windows and alt-tab already works the same in Openbox.  I have the Openbox menu mapped to Shift-F10 which is the context menu keyboard combination in Windows.

 

Once the user tries to use that program, the
package-manager would be invoked to install
that package and any dependencies, and then
the program would be launched, and the menu
entry would be updated to show it is installed.

 

Have you looked at tools Zero Install:

http://0install.net/

 

Not exactly what you're describing, but might be a starting point.  I believe it went out and tried to install the app if you attempted to run it and it didn't exist on your machine yet.

 

Sounds like you have some interesting project ideas.  Also thought the GNUin description at (http://patware.freeshell.org/ ) sounded great.  Would be very interested to hear further about the status of your projects and if you make further progress on them.

 

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