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113 lines
4.0 KiB
113 lines
4.0 KiB
# tarinstall
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An alternative to AppImages, flatpacks and snaps to let the user install an
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application as a single executable file when static linking is not possible
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tarinstall does not include any external files as such it does not include
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any man pages, example configuration files, etc. All of those have to be
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installed separately.
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## Graph
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An application packaged as a tarinstall is made as such
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```
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----- Decompressor -----
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|------- Loader -------|
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|----- App Tarball ----|
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| app/ |
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| lib/ |
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| env |
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------------------------
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```
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Decompressor: It decompresses the archive and then runs the loader
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Loader: It reads the `env` file in the tarball and enumerates the `lib/`
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directory to loads all the necessary libraries and sets the correct environment
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before executing the correct binary in the `app/` directory
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## TODO
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- Find a way to include external files
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- Include a package manager
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- App binary diffs for incremental upgrades
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- Automated tarinstall packaging for developers
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- Package manager for shared objects (libraries)
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- Standardized way to define dependencies
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## Experimental optional components in App Tarball
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`ext/` directory: it includes all of the external files that have to be installed
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upon running the application for the first time
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`deps` file: lists all the required dependencies and their version to allow for
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an empty `lib/` directory at first start, all the dependencies can be downloaded
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upon running the application for the first time. It can also be used when
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packaging the tarinstall to automatically download the dependencies.
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`bin/` directory: it contains all other binary programs that the app may use
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such as POSIX utilies and shell
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## Advantages
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- Allows for application compression
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- Simpler and configyred in plaintext
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- Does not include any external dependencies other than optional ones
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- It can be used alongside other package managers and package formats
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Compression is optional, it can be used to produce smaller packages but also
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increments latency wich may be unwanted.
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## Configuration
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When the application is started the decompressor extracts the directory
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structure into a temporary directory in the filesystem in order to start it.
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This directory can be configured trough the `XDG_CACHE_HOME` enviroment variable
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and if not set it will default to `/tmp/ti-<appname>`, to ensure optimal
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performance the `XDG_CACHE_HOME` directory should be mounted on RAM, that said
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if mounted on permanent storage altough the start times will be worse, the
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files will only be overritten if the checksum changes so to not require
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the extraction everytime.
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## How it works
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1. On executing the tarinstall the decompressor is executed which:
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1. Calculates the cheksum of the tar application
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2. It then checks the destination directory for a `checksum` file
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3. If the calculated checksum matches the one in the `checksum` file it
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skips the extraction
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4. Else it extracts the content of the tar application in the destination
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directory
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2. The decompressor then executes the loader inside the destination directory
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which:
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1. It sets environment according to the `env` file
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2. It overrides the loader libraries with the contents of `lib/`
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3. it enters the `app/` directory and executes the binary named
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`argv[0]` with all the passed arguments
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## Examples
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### Simple example, one binary in `app/`
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```
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/home/anon/.local/bin/
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foo.ti
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/bin/
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foo -> /home/anon/.local/bin/foo.ti
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```
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executing `foo -h` starts `app/foo -h` inside `foo.ti`
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###More complex example, multiple biaries inside `app/`
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```
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/home/anon/.local/bin/
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foo.ti
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/bin/
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foo -> /home/anon/.local/bin/foo.ti
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bar -> /home/anon/.local/bin/foo.ti
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baz -> /home/anon/.local/bin/foo.ti
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```
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- executing `foo -v` starts `app/foo -v` inside `foo.ti`
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- executing `bar -h` starts `app/bar -h` inside `foo.ti`
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- executing `baz -o file` starts `app/baz -o file` inside `foo.ti`
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