On Fri 19 Jun 2020 at 06:23:00 -0500, Richard Owlett wrote: > On 06/18/2020 10:25 PM, Andrei POPESCU wrote: > > On Mi, 17 iun 20, 06:51:18, Richard Owlett wrote: > > > > > > The purpose is to determine if I want to do future installs debootstrap. > > > I attempted to use debootstrap a few years ago and understand it will take > > > some time/effort to learn it. > > > > If you are going to start from scratch you should consider mmdebstrap > > instead (preferably the version in bullseye). It is mostly a drop-in > > replacement for deboostrap, but significantly faster and with some very > > useful additional features. > > IIRC I had looked at it when experimenting with debootstrap and was confused > by its use of chroot. My goal was creating a bootable system on a flash > drive. > > > > > As to the learning curve, deboostrap itself is quite easy. The hard part > > is getting a usable system *after* the deboostrap step. > > > > At that point one gets to really appreciate the hard work that went > > behind debian-installer ;) > > You are "preaching to the choir" ;/
I've sometimes thought you were using a different hymn sheet though. :) > That why I'm investigating making the installer do what I want. That's a laudable aim, but d-i will not be bent to doing what it is not designed to do. For example, suppose you want to install the MATE task without its recommended packages; you are on a loser. > In a way, my underlying problem is Debian has done too good a job > in creating a system maximally useful to the broadest spectrum of users. > They don't use my preferred programs for some functions and including > functions I have no interest in. That results in unnecessary clutter and > size. I am unsure whether Debian has created any system. What it has done is an outstanding job of packaging and providing a competent installer. It is up to a user to create a system that suits their needs. Your preferred programs are not installed using task-mate-desktop? It includes programs of little interest to you? Dead easy. Do apt install install task-mate-desktop --no-install-recommends and go from there. -- Brian.
