[syslinux] Module Versioning

Pete Batard pete at akeo.ie
Wed Apr 12 04:30:12 PDT 2017


On 2017.04.12 08:29, intrigeri via Syslinux wrote:
> The Tails ISO includes utils/{linux/syslinux,win32/syslinux.exe}, that
> can be used to install a ldlinux.sys that exactly matches the included
> *.c32 modules.

That's all very well, but I hope you realize that you are asking for 
ISO -> USB converting applications to figure out whether distros have a 
syslinux installer that will apply to the underlying OS, and if so, 
where it is (being mindful that blindly looking for the first 
"syslinux.exe" out there might very well yield an ARM executable for 
Windows RT, so it's not that simple)

Saying that there's a "syslinux.exe" somewhere on the ISO is fine if the 
ISO -> USB conversion process is going to be done manually by a human 
person. But for an automated application, that has to deal with a myriad 
of ditsros (and not just tails), not so much...

For the purpose of efficiency and size, and because we cannot rely on 
distros providing a syslinux.exe (which is the exception rather than the 
norm), Rufus provides it's own integrated Syslinux installer, and it 
would make very little sense to add an alternate installation path for 
distros that happen to provide syslinux.exe (as it would then become a 
support nightmare).

Besides the initial point, which is that whatever ISO -> USB conversion 
application "needs to find a replacement part, that serves the
same purpose as 'isolinux.bin', but that is compatible with USB-HDD 
boot" still stands. Whether that comes from an existing syslinux.exe on 
the ISO or from elsewhere doesn't change much, as it's not a part we can 
obtain from the bootloaders that are installed on the ISO, and it must 
be obtained from somewhere else.

Regards,

/Pete

PS: Resurrecting old discussion is better avoided, as I literally have 
no idea what the original point was.



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