i've got a relatively simple goal. set up a solid-state, VME, compactflash(as ide) type box that will support a single java application.
i want to build and deploy a minimal kernel, a small set of utilities, (for now) j2re (j2me ultimately), and about 5 megs worth of java application.
i don't need any application dev. tools as my app will run fine on this box with j2re (installed redhat on 1G flash to test things out).
i want to fit it onto a 64M flash card and ultimately will make the images on this disk read only and will run everything on ramdisk.
there are plenty of tools out there, and i've tried many:
tools:
bluecat linux - you get a 30 day demo. i spent most of that 30 days figuring out how to use bluecat itself, finding bugs in it, wasting time on poorly written, incomplete documentation. the support is good, but you'll use it to figure out bluecat itself rather than on the target OS that you're trying to create.
qplus - OS version of target builder. downloaded it and attempted to install. most of the RPMS were corrupted in the tarball offered on sourceforge. spent hours getting non-corrupt rpms. finally got it installed. couldn't get past configure screen due to a bug in the setup process.
metroworks/lineo "target wizard" / platform creation suite - got a 30 day demo. don't know if this app functioned before metroworks bought it, but it doesn't work very well now. lots of bugs, crashing, corrupt images, locking up. also poor documentation, missing tarballs, hacks required to build images (tool wants files called "mwlinux*" at stage ii, but creates files called 'emblinux*' in stage i. this app is not something anyone should be paying for at this point. it's either still beta, or metroworks screwed it up after buying it. i will say this could be a killer app for building embedded systems if it worked.
distros:
peeweelinux - downloaded files that wouldn't work, apparently this is OSS junk
various other mini dists - all seem to be specialized for routers or pdas or firewalls.
redhat - can't easily shrink it below a few hundred megs.
...
so what i'd really like is either a tool such as "target wizard" that works (probably doesn't exist) OR a ready to go distro that is generic, small and will support j2re.
given that j2re is going to take up 40M or more, i need the OS to use less than
15M if i want to fit everything on this 64M card.am i looking for a shortcut that doesn't exist? any suggestions linux lovers?
harry