Version 57 of Puppy Linux

Updated 2009-01-05 09:16:00 by jmn

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)

http://tinypic.com/727leo.png

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.

JMN 2009-01 There seems to be some strange Tcl/Tk law at work here. Something like, 'Any project built only partly on Tcl, will drop Tcl once the project is sufficiently popular.' To me that says Tcl is a great prototyping tool - but also that the developers have no particular loyalty to it and cave in to the growling Tcl-misunderstanding masses.

Some other projects that appear to have dropped Tcl include Cyrus-IMAP (tools changed to perl), The commercial system Vignette which moved to Java, The GRASS gui (gis system)...

I guess some churn amongst languages is natural anyway - just due to developer preferences etc, but it's disappointing to see how often Tcl is dropped.


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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