[syslinux] How to install manually?

[piranna at gmail.com]

I'm trying to install SysLinux on a disk image as part of NodeOS
automated build process, but seems SysLinux requires administrative
priviledges. I suposse this is needed because `syslinux` command try
to mount the disk image / device to store the needed files, that
otherwise would be have been written before and this step omitted. The
other half would be to write the MBR bootloader, that would not
require administrator permissions at all because it would use file
permissions in that case. Only missing point would be if the MBR
bootloader would need to know exactly what's the disk sector where's
the start of LDLINUX.SYS file, but this could also be given with a
parameter if it's known in advance.

So my question is: why are needed administrative permissions to
install SysLinux in a disk image? Is any alternative for that, or
could it be implemented? If that's not possible, what's doing SysLinux
on the disk image MBR and/or content so I can be able to replicate it
with a script?

-- 
"Si quieres viajar alrededor del mundo y ser invitado a hablar en un
monton de sitios diferentes, simplemente escribe un sistema operativo
Unix."
– Linus Tordvals, creador del sistema operativo Linux