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:
Besides:
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:
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 .
Category Distribution | Category Operating System | Category Linux | Category Toys