[kernel] gensplash framebuffer boot splash screens for 2.6.x

Question

coming very, very soon....
if you haven't already, patch a kernel for fbsplash.  i've got 2.6.10 with -nitro2 running just fine, you can grab my PKGBUILD and the patch here - start with the usual Arch config.
i have a complete splashutils PKGBUILD with added extras including scripts and sample configs. PLUS I have created initscripts patches for fbsplash and fbsplash/bkgdDaemon combined...and yes, i do have the silent progress bar working...
MWAHAHAHAHA - it's alive!

Answer 1

After much blood, sweat and tears (not too mention annoying comments from my girlfriend) I have finally managed to patch initscripts to work with silent gensplash! Better late than never, eh?  I had some major headaches with this but I wanted to save it till it was completely ready.
So, here's the deal and the files - all stored here http://dtw.jiwe.org/share/gensplash
with a whole bunch of gensplash showcase pics here
First you need a patched kernel - I am using 2.6.10 and nitro2 - it works great - see the wiki on how to do that.  I have a PKGBUILD and patch file on my server too.
Then you need a splashutils package - there are several about on the forums but I hope mine will provide everything you might need.  Splashutils needs to link to your patched kernel source when you build it - so my PKGBUILD allows this.  The PKGBUILD also uses a pack i put together containing some handy bits for gensplash.  This includes examples for lilo and grub, a splash rc.d script to start the backgrounds on the virtual terminals (and a config file to support this), and it includes three themes: the ArchPool theme, ArchMetal (created by me but credit to the Arch wallpaper author tho!) and the emergence gentoo theme (which is a bit crap to be honest).
You can use the PKGBUILD and the gensplash-files pack to build splashutils.
Pre-built packages of both splashutils, initscripts-custom and initscripts-gensplash (see below) are in my repo – they should work perfectly but YMMV!
When you install splashutils you should get a handy introduction from the install script.
If you want to use silent splash you'll also need to patch your initscripts.  You can use splashutils quite happily to add a verbose boot screen and vc backgrounds if you don't want to mess with your initscripts.  I have a neat PKGBUILD which will grab and patch the latest initscripts from the current repo if you do - this one is for initscripts-gensplash
# Contributor: dibblethewrecker <[email protected]>
# This package is only a modified version of the arch initscripts package
# It allows you to easily checkout the latest initscripts and patch them
# (based on a pkg by Brice Carpentier <[email protected]>)
# (incorporated a patch by Truls Becken <[email protected]>)
pkgname=initscripts-gensplash
pkgver=0.6
pkgrel=1
pkgdesc="System initialization/bootup scripts with gensplash support"
url="http://dev.gentoo.org/~spock/projects/gensplash/"
backup=(etc/inittab etc/rc.conf etc/rc.local)
depends=('bash' 'mawk' 'grep' 'coreutils' 'sed' 'splashutils')
provides=('initscripts')
conflicts=('initscripts')
source=(initscripts-gensplash.diff)
md5sums=('f1770772913855d9539b12b384d9941f')
build() {
# check the latest version of initscripts, grab it, copy and extract it to src
latestver=`pacman -Ss initscripts | grep current | sed "s|current/initscripts ||g"`
echo
echo " : Latest version in current repo is initscripts-$latestver"
echo -n " : Press any key to continue "
read anykey
pacman -Sw --noconfirm initscripts
cp /var/cache/pacman/pkg/initscripts-$latestver.pkg.tar.gz $startdir/src
cd $startdir/src
gunzip -cd initscripts-$latestver.pkg.tar.gz | tar xf -
# create the pkg - no compile required
mkdir -p $startdir/pkg/etc/{rc.d,conf.d}
cd $startdir/src/etc
install -D -m644 inittab $startdir/pkg/etc/inittab
install -D -m644 rc.conf $startdir/pkg/etc/rc.conf
for i in rc.local rc.multi rc.shutdown rc.single rc.sysinit; do
install -D -m755 $i $startdir/pkg/etc/$i
done
cd $startdir/src/etc/rc.d
install -D -m755 network $startdir/pkg/etc/rc.d/network
install -D -m755 netfs $startdir/pkg/etc/rc.d/netfs
install -D -m644 functions $startdir/pkg/etc/rc.d/functions
cd $startdir/src/sbin
install -D -m755 minilogd $startdir/pkg/sbin/minilogd
# apply your patches
cd $startdir/pkg/etc
patch -Np1 -i $startdir/src/initscripts-gensplash.diff
If you do want silent splash (you do – that's what all this work is for) i have 2 patches for this - the first simply patches for gensplash (initscripts-gensplash), the second patches for gensplash and the bkgdDaemons patch (combo-plus).  The old initscripts-bootsplash patch is there for completeness and reference too
The patched initscripts allow you to run silent bootsplash and drop to verbose should errors (fails) occur.  This can be overridden by an option has been added to rc.conf – however, it will ALWAYS drop to verbose if the fs check fails – at least it should – I don't know how to test that.
As I said the drop option has currently been added to rc.conf but the alternative is to use the conf.d/splash config file from the splashutil pkg (which is already set up to allow this).  I would like feedback on this, for and against, whether you intend to us the package or not.  Here is the way I see it:
FOR using rc.conf
You control the majority of boot options from rc.conf – this is a boot option
rc.conf is already sourced by the scripts by default
rc.conf is part of the initscripts package
AGAINST rc.conf
It is the main config file – do we want to pollute it with extraneous commands for eye candy?
FOR using conf.d/splash
It's not rc.conf – it is a gensplash related option in a dedicated gensplash config file
AGAINST using conf.d/splash
This file is not actually used for any config options that relate to boot (except to pre-empt a switch ), only for setting backgrounds on virtual consoles
This file is not part of the initscripts package – although my initscripts obviously depend on apps in splashutils (won't work without it) – cross dependent configs seem dodgy.
We have to source an extra file in the scripts
I have also separately packaged the ArchPool and ArchMetal themes but I will have to upload them later because I forgot them today
Problems and Bugs
I am having MAJOR problems with the splash rc.d script.  It uses the conf.d/splash config file fine but i still CANNOT get it to work at boot BEFORE i log in - it works fine after - ideas PLEASE!
It now also seems to cause similar overlay problems to that are described in bug 2 below – with SOME themes you get a persistent progress bar on your vc after the boot process is finished and it seems to affect different themes depending on when you run the script in your daemons array – am baffled – it needs serious work! Bug 2 and this maybe related...more testing needed!
Last but not least - the bkgdDaemons patch.  If we background a daemon how do we know if it failed or not?  Has anyone thought of that?  My initscripts consider a background daemon BKGD to be DONE for the purposes of displaying the progress bar although the bkgdDaemons patch functionality remains identical and BKGD still shows in verbose.  If a BKGD daemon fails, this maybe as late as after login for DHCP failures, for example, we'll never know until we try to use the network.
Bugs
1. When udev starts you get message saying can't open /dev/fb0 and /dev/fbsplash for reading – no apparent ill effects tho? [FIXED]
2. If you switch to verbose with F2 at a very specific point – during the fs check I think – the background MIGHT corrupt a tiny bit as the verbose overlays the silent (correctly) but then when the fs check finishes I think it still thinks it is in silent mode (due to the mode being passed to it when it starts to execute) and overlays silent again – only for the next rc script to overlay verbose (again correctly).  It's hardly terrible but someone might like to have a look – I can't be bothered right now as there is very little need to switch to verbose with F2 (cos it does it automatically on errors) and you do have to do it at just the right second to get the problem!  Feel free to check it out tho.
TODO:
1) workaround the current symlink workaround – DONE (don't ask it was awful)
2) figure out how to drop out of silent if errors occur at startup - DONE
3) fix that f**king rc.d script – - SOMETIMES WORKS SOMETIMES NOT -SETTING IT AS THE LAST DAEMON SEEMS TO HELP
4) investigate the bugs - DONE
5) enable silent splash in ArchMetal – DONE
6) make lots of nice gensplash screens for Arch! – EVERYONE!