root/morphix/trunk/how_tos/IsoMorphing.xml

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='ISO-8859-1'?>
<chapter id="chap_01">
<title>The first steps: Morphing and making a new Combined ISO</title>
<abstract>
<para>What we will do in this howto:</para>
<para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>Give you an introduction to morphing</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Show you how/where to get isomorph</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Get you up to speed on using isomorph to create your own ISOs</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</abstract>

<sect1 id="sect_01_01"> 
<title>Introduction to morphing</title>

<sect2 id="sect_01_01_01">
<title>Should I read this?</title>
<para>
Okay, you've tried out some of the pre-built Morphix Combined ISOs,
you've possibly even attempted (and hopefully succeeded) in installing them.
Now what? If you are content with the live CDs Morphix provides, this
howto isn't for you. If, on the other hand, you'd like to modify your 
ISO, build a new one using the latest base ISO or just are curious in
the gritty modularity that makes Morphix tick, you're at the right address.
</para>
<para>
In this howto, we'll concentrate on only one of the Morphix tools. As often in 
life, there are more ways than one to hit a nail (and when you
want to hit one, everything looks like a hammer), however we'll limit ourselves
to 'isomorph' here. We will assume you are using either a Debian, 
Morphix or Knoppix install and at least have heard about apt-get before.
If you aren't using a Debian-based install, don't worry: every tool can
also be downloaded as a tarball, and nothing about morphing is specific to 
Debian. Morphing using Windows however is something you'll have to figure out
for yourself!
We will also assume you aren't afraid of the command-line: and if 
you are, you shouldn't be!
</para>
</sect2>

<sect2 id="sect_01_01_02">
<title>The concepts</title>
<para>
Now you might have already heard about a few of the 'morphing' terms. Morphix
is quite different from other live CDs in this aspect, and a lot of 
documentation is available to overcome the gap. Here, you'll get a quick
and dirty introduction to the most important concepts. If you are already
familiar with the concepts of Morphing, you'd most likely want to skip this
section.
</para>
<para>
A Morphix live CD is often termed as a <emphasis>Combined ISO</emphasis>, or just
as an ISO. An ISO is a cd image, ready to be burned to a CD, DVD or possibly
other types of bootable media aswell.
Morphix is modular; that means a Morphix-based live CD is made up out of 
modules. <emphasis>Morphing</emphasis> is the modifying or building of a Morphix-based live CD, 
often by adding or removing these modules. 
</para>

<para>
In Morphix,
there are three types of modules: <emphasis>base modules</emphasis>, <emphasis>main modules</emphasis> and <emphasis>mini modules</emphasis>:
</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
<emphasis>Base modules</emphasis> are where the magic takes place; they boot your live CD, detect
your hardware and fire up the other modules. Base modules are normally
distributed as base ISOs: this means they are small ready-to-run live CDs,
ready for 'morphing' with. 
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<emphasis>Main modules</emphasis> contain the file system of the live CD;
they contain your window manager, your office suite and your browser. 
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<emphasis>Mini
modules</emphasis> contain extra software or files; you can include in them your resume,
the drivers for your modem or a set of extra applications. 
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>
A Morphix live CD
can contain only one base module, but can have an arbitrary number of main and
mini modules included. However, only one main module can be used at the 
same time: if you add more than one, you are prompt at boot time to choose the
one you want. As many mini modules as you want can be used by a single live CD.
</para>
</sect2>

<sect2 id="sect_01_01_03">
<title>Examples of morphing</title>
<para>
Please see our <ulink url="http://www.morphix.org">derivative list</ulink>!

</para>
</sect2>

</sect1>
<sect1 id="sect_01_02">
<title>Getting and installing isomorph</title>

<sect2 id="sect_01_02_01">
<title>Why you want to start off with isomorph</title>
<para>
Isomorph is a command-line tool, which easily allows you to list, add and
remove modules without having to remember an endless amount commands. It's
usage is simple: you give it an ISO, you give it an action and out pops a new
ISO. It doesn't get much simpler!
</para>
<para>
You can get isomorph in a number of ways. The first method will involve the
use of apt-get, the second will apply the (lower-level) dpkg tool. Please
note that you'll have to be the root user to execute most of these commands.
At the command line use the following command to become the root user:
<programlisting>
        <prompt># </prompt><userinput><command>su</command></userinput>
</programlisting>
If you are attempting this from a Morphix live CD (which isn't a good idea, 
as morphing takes quite a bit of space and memory):
<programlisting>
        <prompt># </prompt><userinput><command>sudo</command> sh</userinput>
</programlisting>
</para>
</sect2>

<sect2 id="sect_01_02_02">
<title>Getting isomorph Debian-style: apt-get</title>
<para>
To get isomorph using apt-get, you'll have to add the Morphix repository to
your repository list, if it isn't there already:
<programlisting>
        <prompt># </prompt><userinput><command>nano</command> /etc/apt/sources.list</userinput>
</programlisting>
In this file, every line is a repository. All lines that start with a '#' are
comments. To add the Morphix repository to your list, add the following line:
<itemizedlist>
   <listitem>
      <para>deb http://www.morphix.org/debian ./</para>
   </listitem>
</itemizedlist>
To save, use 
<keycombo>
   <keycap>Ctrl</keycap>
   <keycap>O</keycap>
</keycombo>
, hit enter and you're done. Hit
<keycombo>
   <keycap>Ctrl</keycap>
   <keycap>X</keycap>
</keycombo>
 to exit.          
</para>

<para>
Now that we have added the Morphix repository, we'd naturally want to use it! 
<programlisting>
        <prompt># </prompt><userinput><command>apt-get</command> update</userinput>
</programlisting>
in order to update the package lists of the repositories in your sources.list.
If that worked out okay (if you have errors, check the file for typos), you
should be all set for downloading isomorph and any dependancies necessary:
<programlisting>
        <prompt># </prompt><userinput><command>apt-get</command> install morphix-isomorph</userinput>
</programlisting>
If you didn't see any errors, congratulations! You now have installed isomorph,
and are ready to begin using it in the next section!
</para>
</sect2>

<sect2 id="sect_01_02_03">
<title>Getting isomorph the old way: dpkg</title>
<para>Bla about dpkg</para>
</sect2>

<sect2 id="sect_01_02_03">
<title>Getting isomorph the non-Debian way: tarballs</title>
<para>Bla about tar.gz</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>

<sect1 id="sect_01_03">
<title>Using isomorph to make your new live CD</title>

<para>
Now that you have isomorph, lets use it to make us a new ISO. From the
<ulink url="http://www.morphix.org">Morphix website</ulink>, download the latest
base ISO and one of the combined ISOs. Using isomorph, get a list of modules
from both:
<programlisting>
        <prompt># </prompt><userinput><command>isomorph</command> --list MorphixBase-0.5-pre1.iso</userinput>
</programlisting>
Now a base ISO won't show any main modules in it: it doesn't contain any. However
the combined ISO does have a main module (that's the difference between the
two). You can use the --get option to extract the modules form an ISO:
<programlisting>
        <prompt># </prompt><userinput><command>isomorph</command> --get iso MorphixCombined-LightGUI-0.4-1.iso ./</userinput>
</programlisting>
This extracts all modules from the ISO to the directory you are now in. You
can use extra type-options for narrowing most of the isomorph commands: check
the --help option for more info.
</para>
<para>
Now, lets use isomorph to create a new iso, with the old module. Isomorph has
two options for creating new ISOs: 'add' and 'del'. Again, see the help for 
further details, for now we're only interested in adding the main module we
just retrieved from our old combined ISO:
<programlisting>
        <prompt># </prompt><userinput><command>isomorph</command> --add main lightgui.mod MorphixBase-0.5-pre1.iso mynewiso.iso</userinput>
</programlisting>
And viola, one new combined ISO just waiting to be burned! Don't you just love
the smell of freshly baked live CD in the morning? You can use your usual
cd burning tool (cdrecord, xcdroast or K3B) and finish off this job. Happy
morphing!
</para>

</sect1>

</chapter>