activate - load=, noload= order

[Rava]

About issues I encountered due to the activate - load=, noload= order.

I presume the way activate and Squashfs filesystems work, it is not possible to have a later activated module not overwrite certain files that are of newer file date/time?

I rename all my modules into the "nnn-" schemata (using 000- up to 992- for now) and using 985- as settings for my browser and 991 and 992 as settings or my local scripts and binaries - to be loaded last so as to overwrite standard settings from the previously loaded modules I want changed into my preferred settings.

I realized after I used a setup with the cheatcodes load= and noload= to use XFCE 4.16 instead of XFCE 4.12 that my settings modules got partially rejected - all XFCE settings got reset to the standard which is quite unworkable when using a FullHD screen that is physically not that large (most fonts are much too small; also me adding the Workplace Switcher to the panel, having more than one Desktop etcetera).
It was because of the order the modules got loaded - the 003-xfce-4.16 module got loaded last via load= and thus overwriting my settings in the 991- and 992- modules.

I presume the only way out of that dilemma is by creating a setup with its own Porteus5.0-whatever/porteus/ folder (that has preferably symlinks to save space) and which replaces the 003-fxce-4.12.xzm module with the 003-xfce-4.16.xzm module?
(Which I already did and after restarting my system was back to its old slightly altered look and feel.)

[Ed_P]

it is not possible to have a later activated module not overwrite certain files that are of newer file date/time?

I would be surprised that activation of modules involves date/time. But I could see activation not overlaying files in use.

the only way out of that dilemma is by creating a setup with its own Porteus5.0-whatever/porteus/ folder

Why not use the same folder you're using for these modules?

my settings modules

You could make an ISO with the DE and settings you want then no modules folder needed.

[donald]

4.16 + 4.12 on the same usb.
To avoid mixed changes my porteus.cfg:

LABEL GRAPHICAL
MENU LABEL xfce 4.12
KERNEL /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz
INITRD /boot/syslinux/initrd.xz
APPEND from=UUID:xxxxx changes=UUID:xxxxx/porteus/changes412 noload=xfce-4.16 ipv6.disable=1
TEXT HELP
boot xfce 4.12 + changes

LABEL GRAPHICAL
MENU LABEL xfce 4.16
KERNEL /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz
INITRD /boot/syslinux/initrd.xz
APPEND from=UUID:xxxxx changes=UUID:xxxxx/porteus/changes416 noload=xfce-4.12 ipv6.disable=1
TEXT HELP
boot xfce 4.16 + changes

After all customisation is done I add changes-ro.

If something should be saved I remove changes-ro at the splash-screen (it removes the write protection temporarily), add the changes and reboot so changes-ro is automatically set again.

[Rava]

You could make an ISO with the DE and settings you want then no modules folder needed.

Here are my most recent 991- and 992- modules:

Code: Select all

root  172032 2022-10-13 04:24 991-usr_local_bin_2022-10-13.xzm
root  368640 2022-10-13 12:30 992-rootcopy_5.0_2022-10-13.xzm
root  172032 2022-10-14 14:35 991-usr_local_bin_2022-10-14.xzm
root  368640 2022-10-16 15:03 992-rootcopy_5.0_2022-10-16.xzm
root  372736 2022-10-21 14:53 992-rootcopy_5.0_2022-10-21.xzm
root  172032 2022-10-21 22:58 991-usr_local_bin_2022-10-21.xzm
root  372736 2022-10-22 20:38 992-rootcopy_5.0_2022-10-22.xzm
root  172032 2022-10-22 21:00 991-usr_local_bin_2022-10-22.xzm
root  172032 2022-10-23 18:26 991-usr_local_bin_2022-10-23.xzm
root  372736 2022-10-23 18:37 992-rootcopy_5.0_2022-10-23.xzm

Your idea would mean sometime more than a daily creation of an ISO. That is very bothersome, and I like my sda1 -> symlink to sda? where the RECENT symlink is that links to the file itself.
Meaning I can keep all my porteus/base folders on sda1 untouched and when booting all will always point to the most recent of my settings modules automatically. (The creation of the 991- and 992- modules and the creation of the symlinks are done by my make-99[12]- script suite)

To avoid mixed changes my porteus.cfg:

I never got into using changes, I prefer doing all saving manually.

Added in 13 minutes 4 seconds:

Code: Select all

root 372736 2022-10-24 01:59 992-rootcopy_5.0_2022-10-24.xzm

and a new version, adding /home/guest/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css - thanks donald! <B

Added in 3 minutes 56 seconds:
and of course make-992-rootcopy.sh also updated the symlink accordingly:

Code: Select all

root@porteus:/Porteus_modules# ls -o 992-rootcopy_5.0-RECENT.xzm |cut -c 39-
992-rootcopy_5.0-RECENT.xzm -> 992-rootcopy_5.0_2022-10-24.xzm

(/Porteus_modules is also a symlink, obviously.)

[Ed_P]

Here are my most recent 991- and 992- modules:

I'm amazed you change your settings that frequently. And that you keep so many old ones.

[Rava]

I'm amazed you change your settings that frequently. And that you keep so many old ones.

If you would see all my old ones it would be hundreds.

And at times I do create more than one of 991- and 992- modules each day.
But since files by the same name (as in: created on the same date) are overwritten you never see more than one file per day-"suffix".