[PATCH RFC] Add a link for /init for initramfs images

[Michael Conrad]

On 11/30/2011 3:37 PM, Harald Becker wrote:
>> On Wednesday, November 30, 2011 11:12 AM, "Darren Hart"
>> <dvhart at linux.intel.com>  wrote:
>>> Initramfs images require a /init. If busybox supports INITRD, add the
>>> link.
>>> INITRD and INITRAMFS aren't the same thing, but there isn't an INITRAMFS
>>> feature as of yet.
> What is the reason you are not able to install that link yourself?
>
> IMHO we shall remove that link creation feature of Busybox completely.
> Why can't we have a bb_install script that does this installation. That
> script may not only install the links. The script may even create
> directories, devices and add some necessary (minimalistic) configuration
> files (under /etc). In addition the script may be tailored to create
> Busybox root systems for different purposes (initrd, initramfs, hd boot
> portion, chroot environment, web server cgi environment, etc.). After
> root system creation the script is no longer required and may be removed
> (not to be included in initramfs - will not waste that space in
> minimalistic systems).
>
> Just to give my cent on that topic. I always disable that install
> feature to create a Busybox without that overhead. I never used or need
> it anyways.

Actually, I use that feature to create a self-extracting initramfs.  I 
use an init script with "#! /bin/busybox sh" as its interpreter, and the 
second line is "/bin/busybox --install".  I would think the size of the 
routine to create a link for each applet would be less than the bytes 
used in a cpio archive to describe ~50 hard links.  More importantly, 
though, it saves me the trouble of needing to remember which applets 
I've removed or added when switching to a new busybox, and keeps my 
development-time initramfs file tree easy to work with and manage with 
version control.

-Mike