[Splashy-users] Splashy mini-howto (README)
Luis
lemsx1 at gmail.com
Thu Dec 14 13:23:51 CET 2006
Hello all,
Sorry that we didn't update the README file in the current stable
release. This is the new file to be included in future releases:
Readme
******
Thank you for trying Splashy!
Features
========
What makes Splashy special over other boot-splash systems is:
* There is NO need to patch the kernel
* It supports millions of colors as well as alpha channels (transparency)
* All resolutions are supported
* It supports all the formats provided by directfb: jpg, png, gif, mpg, swf...
* It run in user-space as any other application. So, it can be run at any time
by simply typing "splashy" at the command prompt
* initramfs support, which allows Splashy to run early at boot [See
Initram File System below]
* XML configuration
* Multiple and easy to create themes
* Lots of effects (animations, fade in/out, smooth progress, etc)
* TrueType2 fonts support
* And many other features, too numerous to list here...
Requirements
============
In order to start using Splashy you will need to have the following:
* A video card
* A kernel that supports framebuffers (default for the mayority of Linux
distributors)
* On Linux, a 2.6 kernel or later is requiered (because directfb requires it)
* Splashy itself
In order to compile Splashy you will also need to have the following:
* glib2
* directfb 0.9.22 or later
* libjpeg and/or libpng (optional)
Installation (Quick)
====================
1. Unpack Splashy's sources and run as super-user in the extracted directory:
./configure --prefix=/ && make && make install
2. Add "splash vga=791 quiet" to the append= line on your bootloader
configuration
NOTE: For Grub, this is /boot/grub/menu.lst
For lilo you need "vga=791" in its own line before the kernel stanzas, and add
only "quiet splash" to append=
Other bootloaders will use the same options, but they need to be passed
differently. Check your bootloader's manual
3. Make sure that /etc/init.d/splashy is symlinked from
/etc/rcS.d/S01splashy, or whatever the first script is when your
computer boots.
4. For /etc/lsb-base-logging.sh to work, make sure that /lib/lsb/init-functions
sources this file:
$> cat /lib/lsb/init-functions | tail -2
[ -e /etc/lsb-base-logging.sh ] && . /etc/lsb-base-logging.sh || true
5. Reboot and have fun!
Installation (Detailed)
=======================
1. Compile Splashy following the usual "./configure && make && make install"
procedure (check "./configure --help" to see the available options)
2. Edit your bootloader's configuration file to set up the framebuffer mode:
* In Grub, edit /boot/grub/menu.lst
HINT: In Debian, look for "#kopt" and append vga=0x317 to it. Then run
update-grub. Other distros edit the kernel root= line appropriately
* In lilo, edit /etc/lilo.conf
HINT: Look for the default image= and edit append= by appending vga=0x317
to it
* In Quik, edit /etc/quik.conf and append vga=0x317 to the kernel argument
line
If you use a different framebuffer driver, then you would need to tell the
kernel, through the kernel's parameters, to use that other driver. For example,
to use the radeonfb framebuffer driver:
* Grub: #kopt: quiet video=radeonfb:1024x768-32 at 100
* Lilo: append="quiet video=radeonfb:1024x768-32 at 100"
For intel i810 internal cards the lilo line would look like:
append="video=i810fb:vram:2,xres:1024,yres:768,bpp:8,hsync1:30,hsync2:55, \
vsync1:50,vsync2:85,accel,mtrr"
Splashy will support any video mode the framebuffer supports
The following is a table for the vide modes and their corresponding codes
640x480 800x600 1024x768 1280x1024 1600x1200
256 colors (8b) 769 771 773 775 796
32K colors (15b) 784 787 790 793 797
64K colors (16b) 785 788 791 794 798
16M colors (24b) 786 789 792 795 799
For example, for 1024x768 at 16bit (64K colors or "thousands of colors"), you
could pass an argument to the kernel like:
vga=791
These values could be used in base16 (hexadecimal) also, like:
vga=0x317
3. Make sure "scripts/splashy-update-progress-steps" is in
/etc/init.d/splashy and
/etc/rcS.d/S01splashy symlink that points there
4. Copy scripts/lsb-base-logging.sh to /etc/ and make sure that
/lib/lsb/init-functions
sources this file:
$> cat /lib/lsb/init-functions | tail -2
[ -e /etc/lsb-base-logging.sh ] && . /etc/lsb-base-logging.sh || true
5. Reboot and have fun!
Configuration
=============
Splashy's configuration file is /etc/splashy/config.xml
To know about it read it's man page: man splashy-config.xml
Initram File System
===================
In order to enable Splashy running early at the initramfs level, you need to
ensure the following:
1. Make sure that you edit /etc/default/splashy and set ENABLE_INITRAMFS= to 1
like:
ENABLE_INITRAMFS=1
2. From a terminal run:
update-initramfs -u -t -k `uname -r`
Notes: (On Ubuntu and Debian) you might have to change
/etc/init.d/keymap.sh like:
#!/bin/sh
pidof splashy > /dev/null && exit 0
...
In other words, if splashy is running, do not bother to run keymap.sh
(which stops splashy and waits for input in tty2).
/etc/lsb-base-logging.sh will do the right thing and run these scripts
again when the percentage goes to 100% (when gdm/kdm/xdm calls
log_msg_end() or when X is detected running, our percentage goes to
100% automatically)
Themes
======
To install a new theme, download it and install it with splashy_config:
splashy_config -i <theme>
To use some theme as the default theme, run:
splashy_config -s <theme_name>
You can get a list of available themes with:
splashy_config --info
To create a theme, run "splashy_config -c" and answer all the questions
Uninstallation
==============
>From within the extracted sources directory just run as super-user:
make uninstall
You might need to remove vga= and splash from your kernel parameters.
Developers Information
======================
For making changes to Splashy sources or scripts, please refer to the HACKING
file.
Other (Links)
=============
Project page: http://alioth.debian.org/projects/splashy
Documentation/Wiki: http://splashy.alioth.debian.org
IRC: Channel #splashy on irc.freenode.net
Mail list: splashy-users at lists.alioth.debian.org
Development sources: svn://svn.debian.org/svn/splashy
--
----)(-----
Luis Mondesi
*NIX Guru
"Feliz el hombre que ha hallado sabiduria y el hombre que consigue
discernimiento, porque el tenerla como ganancia es mejor que tener la
plata como ganancia; y el tenerla como producto, [mejor] que el oro
mismo" (Prov 3:13-14).
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