Linux Install Process
 

Hi to everyone,

I have a very simple question relating to a Linux installation
I hope that i am posting this at right place.

I want to know, when we install any Linux Distro, How is the install process carried out ?

For Eg. taking Anaconda or the Debian Installer in mind,
How does the actual installation is carried out, after we select all the user defined options.

Are the packages, rpm's/deb's etc are compiled according to the system, to make an executable image??

If yes, what internal compiler is used there? gcc?? a modular version?
I would be grateful if somebody can guide me to the right documentation.

Thanks in advance!!

It actually depends on the distro. Some uses combined comressed files(like squashfs) some keeps the packages(rpms, debs etc) individually and separately in the installation media.

Linux installer identifies the hardware and configure the softwares properly as it is supposed to.

you also can try ubuntu out without installing it (i mean going throug the installer and canel it on the last step

this can give you a nice previev how installers of ubuntu work

many other dists also provide this service

i think, this is something close, i was looking towards

http://d-i.alioth.debian.org/doc/internals/

I get the impression that you're trying to figure out which compiler the installer uses. For Debian, it doesn't. All packages are precompiled and just downloaded to your system during the installation process. The kernel, itself, is already compiled with all the commonly used drivers. This way, it's a one-size-fits-all, which is what's wanted during an install.

Can i assume the same for Anaconda,
Can you please point me towards some documentation of Anaconda, as i was unable to find it.

Can i assume the same for Anaconda,
Can you please point me towards some documentation of Anaconda, as i was unable to find it.

Yes, you may assume the same for anaconda. It would take ages to install if it had to compile everything that you wanted to install.

Just because it is a simple question, doesn't mean that it has a simple answer.

It varies. If you look at Gentoo (the distribution) or sabayon, you'll find that they do/can use an entirely different process from the standard
.deb/.rpm -based distros.

If you wqant the irritatingly generic answer, its 'you run a program and it does stuff'.

No, (up to a point) that's the point. There will be package files pre-compiled for different supported architectures (except for the degenerate case in which only one arch is supported) and the installer will select between the ones/one (!) that is available. this will givew you the desired executables for your arch. Additional configuration will also have to be done for a particular installation (writing .conf files, primarily).

IIRC, there is pretty effective gentoo documentation that you might want to look at, for a view 'from the other side of the fence'.

As basically said above, most distros provide pre-built binaries as the default, with src as an extra. Much safer/quicker install.
This is why, when distros came on up to 5 or 6 CDs, a std install would only use the first 2 or 3 CDs. The higher num CDs had the src code, but weren't usually needed for a std installation.
Used to be a fairly common qn here at LQ. These days, most people go DVD or download, so they don't realise.

The better to do in your case is to try a Live Distro, if you like you install it and use free!
In my case, i'm a Linux Hyper Fan, i use Linux in my notebook, HP Jornada 720(Handheld PC), in my Palm T|X and in my cellphone!

A Linux Fan!

Ya, i hope, that if i would have wanted the "generic" answer, i wouldn't have bothered coming here. Moreover G$ can offer me more !

I have been asking for the right documentation, from my first post,
well, now i know, some distro's go for precompiled packages, others like gentoo do provide precomiled packages, with the option of compilation....

Is there any significant source, where i can read about all the distro's.....
or if somebody even tried to do that.....
its not that mundane, to not have a page of its own...

anyways, if there are other "different" processes of doing the installation,
i would request you to make a note here, so that i can do the documentation myself.
I will end up with an article of differential install processes on different distro's

& yes, i have been using Live CD's for my last three years.
& used my VMWare for even more stuff.

Thanks everyone.

Just FYI,

1. there are hundreds of distros; see www.distrowatch.com
2. most, if not all, distros have a HOWTO install doc on the web on their home page
3. there are many webpages of the 'Intro to Linux' type that describe how to install one (or more) Linux distros

I guess you could maybe create a site that indexed the Install HOWTOs for many distros. Might be tricky to keep up to date though (see 1 above).

Fundamentally, there are 2 major install types;

1. most distros go for the pre-built binary approach, although as per the GPL, you also get the src code files as well
2. a few (advanced user) distros just supply the src and a compiler, so you can build from scratch; see eg Gentoo, LFS

HTH

So, why, if you didn't want a somewhat lame, generic answer, did you not ask something more directed than a lame, generic, question?


So, now you are an expert...

Even amongst the 'precompiled package' distros, there are significant differences, but as far as a generic answer is concerned, you are fully informed.

If you read, eg Maximum RPM (which is not all that different from a slightly expanded version of 'man rpm') you'll see how an rpm-based distro can install stuff from repositories. Obviously, not all distros do this, but, if you've got to provide the software to install stuff, it makes sense to use it to install stuff, no...

Of course that will not apply, in detail, to anything using .deb, but the general ideas will. And anything using the 'also works as a live CD' methodology will take a slightly different approach, although whether it willgo 100% for the live CD approach or a hybrid one, will vary from distro to distro.

Well, distrowatch is the best source that I know of for information on the differences between distros. It doesn't deal with this question specifically, but there is some stuff on the overall philosophy of the distros and the package management format/package manager.

Well, if you want you can create one, but it would be an amount of work for something that is of little general interest. But I suppose that you could argue that this is one of the wonders of the internet, whatever you want, no matter how wacky, someone has put up a site about it, or started a discussion about it.

Ya, it was a indeed a very lame question, & thank you for the expert reply i got.