Hello all:
I am creating a Fedora spin for researchers and have previously discussed this idea on the developers and release engineering mailing list. However, with the hope that my spin will be officially accepted for future releases, I am going to follow the process listed in [1]. As a first step, this email.
Background: -----------------
I am a long-term Linux user and have been into full-time scientific research for the past 3 years now. Everytime I have to do a fresh-install of Linux (not so frequently, ofcourse), I have to download a bunch of tools which I use regularly. For example, gnuplot, xfig, LaTex compilers, numpy, etc. Say hello to Fedora-Scientific. The idea is to create a Fedora spin based on the default "Fedora GNOME Desktop", but having additional tools which most researchers will use.
Current State -----------------
After discussions on the release engineering mailing list with Bill Nottingham, I proposed a patch to the comps-f16-xml.in file [2], which basically adds a new set of mandatory packages in the "Engineering and Scientific" group. Considering this new "Engineering and Scientific" group, my current kickstart file looks like [3]. I have tested it with the rawhide repository and it looks good to me. The ISO stands at ~1.2 G
Scope and Future -----------------------
- I have decided upon the current set of applications based on my own experience and likings. I am obviously open to include any other application. I should point out here that my idea is to have a generic toolset made available. The number of tools currently available in different domains- Physics, Chemistry, Biology is just too many.
- I haven't actively looked into applications which may not be available in the repository and is important to a spin such as this. Needless to say, I am going to take upon the responsibility of packaging such software.
Conclusion -------------- That's all for now. I shall look forward to your comments and suggestions and if this sounds like an interesting idea, will work towards its acceptance by the Spins SIG.
[1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Spins_Process
[2] http://git.fedorahosted.org/git/?p=comps.git;a=commitdiff;h=ebfe294e32736a3e...
[3] https://bitbucket.org/amitksaha/custom_linux/src/392dec59a13e/fedora-live-sc...
Thanks! -Amit
On Wed, Jun 29, 2011 at 1:40 PM, Amit Saha droidery@gmail.com wrote:
Hello all:
I am creating a Fedora spin for researchers and have previously discussed this idea on the developers and release engineering mailing list. However, with the hope that my spin will be officially accepted for future releases, I am going to follow the process listed in [1]. As a first step, this email.
1. create a page in fedora-wiki for the spin incl information on proposed packages and things to be added
I believe you want it to make it an official spin only, but still anything below 4.2GB will be missing too much. Also consider making an unofficial spin ....
Best
A. Mani
Hello:
On 07/03/2011 07:50 AM, A. Mani wrote:
On Wed, Jun 29, 2011 at 1:40 PM, Amit Sahadroidery@gmail.com wrote:
Hello all:
I am creating a Fedora spin for researchers and have previously discussed this idea on the developers and release engineering mailing list. However, with the hope that my spin will be officially accepted for future releases, I am going to follow the process listed in [1]. As a first step, this email.
- create a page in fedora-wiki for the spin incl information on
proposed packages and things to be added
Done: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Scientific_Spin
Shall look forward to comments/queries and suggestions.
I believe you want it to make it an official spin only, but still anything below 4.2GB will be missing too much. Also consider making an unofficial spin ....
As far as my current plan with the spin goes, achieving 4.2G might be a little difficult, since I dont intend to include domain specific tools. However, that might change with more eyeballs looking at it and suggesting more "generic" packages. I am also in touch with the SciTech SIG members and in the process of reviving the mailing list.
The kickstart file is already tested, and the ISO builds alright. However, haven't been able to test it properly since the rawhide repo seems to be quite unstable atm.
Thanks for your comments/suggestions and will look forward to further ideas.
Best, Amit
On Sun, Jul 03, 2011 at 13:18:11 +1000, Amit Saha droidery@gmail.com wrote:
As far as my current plan with the spin goes, achieving 4.2G might be a little difficult, since I dont intend to include domain specific tools. However, that might change with more eyeballs looking at it and suggesting more "generic" packages. I am also in touch with the SciTech SIG members and in the process of reviving the mailing list.
If the image is over 4 GiB, then it can't be saved on a FAT file system. In the past ISOs other than the source ISOs have been limited to 4 GiB for that reason. (Even though a DVD will hold a bit more.)
Mirror space also used to be a significant issue, but it looks like only the KDE and (Gnome) Desktop live images are ending up on the mirrors now. The other live images are available as torrents or from a server that isn't mirrored (at least by the full set of mirrors).
On Wed, Jun 29, 2011 at 18:10:19 +1000, Amit Saha droidery@gmail.com wrote:
Hello all:
I am creating a Fedora spin for researchers and have previously discussed this idea on the developers and release engineering mailing list. However, with the hope that my spin will be officially accepted for future releases, I am going to follow the process listed in [1].
Note that there are two levels of official. One is having the kickstart file in one of the kickstart packages, the other is having an iso published.
-
A. Mani -
Amit Saha -
Bruno Wolff III