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Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!news.Hawaii.Edu!ames!pacbell.com!amdahl!netcomsv!netcom.com!hasty From: hasty@netcom.com (Amancio Hasty Jr) Subject: Re: 386BSD on a cheap PC Message-ID: <hastyCJw67v.LHo@netcom.com> Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) References: <2hfuj1$huf@pdq.coe.montana.edu> <hastyCJtDIG.7BE@netcom.com> <2hhi1p$lva@pdq.coe.montana.edu> Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 19:31:04 GMT Lines: 50 In article <2hhi1p$lva@pdq.coe.montana.edu> nate@bsd.coe.montana.edu (Nate Williams) writes: >In article <hastyCJtDIG.7BE@netcom.com>, >Amancio Hasty Jr <hasty@netcom.com> wrote: >>In article <2hfuj1$huf@pdq.coe.montana.edu> nate@bsd.coe.montana.edu (Nate Williams) writes: >I write:> I was able to get X into 45MB (including >I write:>swap) back in the pre-shared lib days with a very early version of FreeBSD, >I write:>so it's doable. (But not recommeended) > >>May I ask why is not recommended to have a very small installation >>of FreeBSD;specially, if we have shared libraries? > >The small installation I was speaking about did nothing but run X. No >compilers, no man pages, no room for apps, no X clients, nothing but the >kernel and necessary utilities + X fonts and the X server. This was >pre-shared so you could go alot smaller now. > >It's not recommended since it can do nothing but server as an >X-terminal. However, I think once the diskless support is finalized I >think it may become more viable to build minimal installations. > > I think since there is an X terminal market the above mentioned installation is still useful to some. A typical scenario is for a user which runs Windows but has a FreeBSD installation just to run X. The cost of such a setup is still far less than buying an X server for DOS. There was a minimal X installation requiring less than 4MB of disk space it just had an xterm and that was pre-shared library days. It is conceivable to have an X installation with shared libraries with a few more apps and using the same or less disk space. Also, if we included tcl/tk along with a few well chosen extensions and scripts such a minimal X installation will go a long way. Perhaps, someone with a need to have a small FreeBSD installation and someone that has a large disk can get together and forge a Tiny FreeBSD installation, hopefully with shared library support. If we could cram the installation into 7 or less floppies it will be fantastic. Enjoy, Amancio -- FREE unix, gcc, tcp/ip, X, open-look, interviews, tcl/tk, MIME, midi, sound at freebsd.cdrom.com:/pub/FreeBSD Amancio Hasty, Consultant | Home: (415) 495-3046 | e-mail hasty@netcom.com | ftp-site depository of all my work: ahasty@cisco.com | sunvis.rtpnc.epa.gov:/pub/386bsd/X