Version 56 of Puppy Linux

What: Puppy Linux

 Where: http://www.puppylinux.org/
        http://www.murga.org/~puppy/
        http://forum.puppylinux.net/
        http://www.puppyos.com/
        http://www.puppyos.com/news.htm
 Description: Yet another one of the gazillion [Linux] distros available.
        Contains MUT - a brand new Tcl/Tk application that detects and mounts devices.
        Current versions: 1.0.9 CE (Community Edition) and 2.01
 Updated: 2006-06-22
 Contact: Barry Kauler <mailto:[email protected]>

Remarkable for two reasons:

it is very small (60 Mb or so) and otherwise desirable [L1 ];
the creator is very fond of Tcl. About half of the bundled applications were written in Tcl/Tk in early versions, but Tcl has now been dropped.

Besides:

It boots and runs off its installation CD, like Knoppix.
Very easy to try. Designed to fit on a business card size CD and easy to install to a USB pen drive or Zip disk.
Runs entirely in RAM, so it's fast, and releases the CD drive for other use.
It can be rejigged to run on low-spec. PCs (586, 32RAM; 128MB recommended).

NEM: There doesn't seem to be any mention of Tcl or Tk on the website. Is it just not advertised?

LES: I tried an old version, 0.8 I think. Many of the applications and scripts are Tcl/Tk. This version even has specTcl and visual Tcl. These were removed in the newest releases, but snack got in. Open the 2004 "news" page [L2 ] and look for "20Jun04". Also, check the developers' page [L3 ] and look for "guiding philosophy". The author states: "applications ... must be written in Tcl/Tk, C or C++".

AET 11feb05 A remarkable little distro. I easily got it working in Windows XP by downloading one of the .iso's and booting it in qemu [L4 ]. My first look at both Puppy and qemu. Reportedly very easy to rebuild, so a 'roll your own' version with lotsa Tcl goodies is viable. Puppy can use a USB stick or other device for a persistent /home.

AET 13jul05 Latest Puppy boasts a very usable combination of OS and software with lots of good, down-to-earth help. New project allows Puppy to reside on a Multi-Session CD, and /home is saved to CD when you finish. Needs a CD writer, naturally, but no hard disk or memory stick. You can remove the CD and only replace it when you close a session. Even has its own package manager (written in Tcl/Tk) which effortlessy installs a growing number of user-supplied software packages, and perports to install other packages. A new package manager in Tcl/Tk is in the pipeline.

I think that Puppy has a lot in common with StarKits; Simple deployment, and endless configuration possibilities.

LV I always thought that Puppy should make a lot of use of starkits - distribute each tcl extension in a starkit, then have the apps mount it. With Tcl module support, this should be easy.

RJ I've been using it since v1.04 (now up to 1.07). It's a remarkably stable little linux. The package manager, dotpup and putget, really simplify the task of adding apps. I started using the multisession DVD and had a lot of luck with it. I changed to LiveCD using the pup001 file on XP NTFS as a home because it began taking too long to boot up. Multisession CD or DVD allocates a new track each time you shutdown to save changed files and settings and it began chugging through those tracks, after about a 100 or so became too cumbersome to wait.

I installed ActiveTcl (native mode) for linux on Puppy - not a glitch. If you want to test cross platform, there is no reason not to burn a LiveCD of Puppy for testing on Linux. It's downside is that it's native shell is bash/ash. I think it is to keep the kernal small enough to fit in old computer's RAM. They allow multiple Window Managers - fwvm95 is in the base software, JWM is default in 1.07, IceWM is offered as a dotpup package (and some others). I am going to give Whim window manager a shot now that I am up to 8.4.12 with ActiveTCL. Let you know how it turns out. Did I mention that I like Puppy?

escargo 14 Jul 2005 - For a recent review of Puppy Linux: [L5 ].

CJL - It also gets a positive (but fairly superficial) mention in the current Linux Journal - http://www.linuxjournal.com/issue/136 . The article is at http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8302 (non-subscribers will have to wait a month or two to see the full article)

Tcl/Tk-Applications in puppy:

tkconvert-1.3
tkdvd-3.9.0
tkfont-1.1patched
tkgamma-1.0
tkhtml-2.0
tkmasqdialer-1.12
tkmines-1999
tkvnc-2003
tkworld-1.4.0
tkzip-1.1.5
ColorExplorer-1.1

LV I had to mark at least 3 URLs as questionable today - attempted to get to them, got 404's and worse...

Puppy no longer uses Tcl. The applications above have all been replaced by Gtk ones.

D. McC 2008 Nov 29 (REVISED 2009 Jan 4): But it's really easy to create a custom variant of Puppy that does use Tcl. I've done it myself, and I'm planning to release an .iso of the custom variant ("Pa Penguin's Pup") for distribution after I get done finishing up the 2009 versions of my "WISH" apps.

It's even easier to install Tcl as an add-on to Puppy. See, for example: http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?search_id=86584510&t=36887 .

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