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Customizing Caldera DR-DOS

Overview

This chapter explains how you can add or remove components from DR-DOS by editing SETUP.INI and then using DISKSET to create new CD or disk product versions.

NOTE: You need to have DR-DOS installed on your computer before you can start building the components. You can install DR-DOS from the \DRDOS\INSTALL directory on the CD.

You will complete some or all of the steps below depending on your implementation:

Copying Files From the DR-System Builder Kit CD

If you are only modifying the DR-DOS build set, you need to copy all the files from the \OEM\SDKS\RDK directory on to your development machine. You can copy other software development kits to your machine if you intend to modify other parts of DR-DOS. For example, if you want to embed DR-DOS in a device, you need to copy the ROMMING SDK to your computer.

Adding or Removing Components

To add or remove a component from the DR-DOS file set before you generate a new product version, you need to edit the script file which controls how the new CD or disk image is built. The utility that creates disk images is called DISKSET and this uses a script file (DRDOS.DDF) that contains information about all of the components used.

Editing the Script File

The script file contains information about all of the components. An extract is shown below to illustrate this.

COMPONENT=ibmdos.com
INI_FILE_PREFIX=root:xfd
ABSOLUTE DISK=1
ATTRIBUTES= +RSH

COMPONENT=command.com
INI_FILE_PREFIX=root:xfd
ABSOLUTE_DISK=1

The following is a brief explanation of the commands used:

Adding a New Component

To add a new component to the installation, edit the script file to add a COMPONENT command and the name of the component. Add a INI_FILE_PREFIX command to specify where it will be installed.

For example:

COMPONENT=mycomp.exe
INI_FILE_PREFIX= dos:d

Removing a Component

To remove a component, add semi-colons to the beginning of the command lines or delete the lines for the component you want to remove. You need to remove all the lines which are related to that component up to the next ``Component='' command.

For example:

;COMPONENT= mycomp.exe
;INI_FILE_PREFIX= dos:d

Specifying the Time and Date

At the end of the script file, you can set the time and date for each component. The DEFAULT_DATE and DEFAULT_TIME settings can be left so that the current time and date will be used.

By default, the files time and date are preserved when building a file set. However it is possible to set a new time and date for all or some files.

To set a time and date on all files, use the DEFAULT_TIME and DEFAULT_DATE commands in the defaults section at the start of the drdos.ddf file.

DEFAULT_TIME=7:01
DEFAULT_DATE=10/1/97

To override the default time or date with a different time/date for a particular component, use the TIME and DATE command, for example:

COMPONENT = TESTFILE.EXE
TIME=7:01
DATE = 10/1/97

If you do not want the time and date on a particular file to change, you can preserve the original time/date with the TOUCH=OFF command. For example:

COMPONENT = TEST2.EXE
TOUCH=OFF

Modifying and Building DOSBook

If you are customizing DR-DOS, it may be necessary for you to update the online documentation. Refer to the Customizing DOSBook Guide for more information about editing the content of the help files in DOSBook.

All the source files are in the \OEM\SDKS\RDK\DOSBOOK directory. A BIN directory is created during the build process to store the final executable (DOSBOOK.EXE).

When you have modified the chapter files, you can build DOSBook in the following way. Change to the \OEM\SDKS\RDK\DOSBOOK directory and enter the following:

MAKE

This builds the DOSBook component and stores the built executable (DOSBOOK.EXE) in \RDK\DOSBOOK\BIN. When DOSBook has been built, copy the file into the RDK\GENSYS directory so that it is ready to be integrated into the product.

Generating CD or Diskette Product Versions

This section describes how you integrate your modified components into the product.

Any changes that you have made to the DOSBOOK component must be copied to the RDK\GENSYS directory.

When the required directories have been created, you can then create the CD product version. This is done by using the DISKSET utility which uses a script file called DRDOS.DDF. Enter the following at the command line:

DISKSET DRDOS.DDF DRDOS /S

The DRDOS.DDF is the script file that controls how the product is built. The second parameter is the directory where the files will be copied to and the /S switch means that there will be no user interaction during the process. Enter DISKSET /? for further information about command line switches you can use.

Creating Diskette Product Versions

To create diskette versions, you use the disk emulation program FILEDISK.EXE. When this utility is loaded, use the DISKSET program to create the disk images. An example is shown below:

FILEDISK /U ; make sure it is not already loaded
FILEDISK /DI=OFF /F=1.44 A: DISKETTE\DISK01.IMG
; create 1.44 MB images
DISKSET DRDOS.DDF A: /I:DISKETTE\DISK /S
; use diskset to create disk images
FILEDISK /U ; unload after use

The following are the command line switches used for FILEDISK

DISKSET creates SETUP.INI by using the script file provided (DRDOS.DDF). The SETUP.INI file is used by the INSTALL program as it contains information on where all of the components are going to be installed on the user's computer. This information is transposed from the script file to the SETUP.INI file.

Customizing the Printed Documentation

The source files for the DR-DOS User Guide and Quick Start Guide are provided in the \OEM\DOC\FRAME5 directory. The files are in FrameMaker 5 format. The related diagrams in EPS format are either in the subdirectory \DIAGRAMS or in the same directory as the FrameMaker files.

In FrameMaker, open the .BK file (or .BOOK file) to open the complete book.

Edit the chapters as required remembering to edit the index markers as appropriate if you edit the text. Update the entire book and regenerate all the generated lists (contents, index, list of figures, and list of tables.)

NOTE: Check the generated lists after they have been created to make sure that they look correct. You need to edit the lists in some cases because you can have some unwanted headings appearing and some formatting might need to be adjusted.


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