[indiana-discuss] CD Space analysis and recommendations

[Peter Korn]

Hi Dave, gang,

> As we all know, the live CD has grown quite a bit since the 2008.05
> release.  I've spent some time analyzing how we're using the space and
> where the growth between build 86 and build 94 occurred, and worked up 
> some recommendations.
>
> The analysis data is now posted at:
>
> http://www.opensolaris.org/os/project/indiana/cd_space/
>
> The recommendations are posted at:
>
> http://www.opensolaris.org/os/project/indiana/cd_recommendations/
>
> I would especially appreciate feedback from the desktop, X, and l10n 
> teams on the recommendations.  We'll work up an actual plan once we've 
> discussed a bit.

As noted by the analysis data, it may prove difficult to remove 
SUNWgnome-a11y-libs.  Looking at the rest of the accessibility packages 
(11MB), I suspect most of the 8MB Dasher package is from the very large 
set of language models (including such critical languages as Klingon :-) 
that we certainly don't need on a non-global CD.

For LiveCD accessible install support, the most significant use case is 
unassisted installation by blind users.  GOK & Dasher users are more 
likely to have assistance with OS installation - their disabilities are 
typically severe enough that these users generally need assistance with 
overall computer setup, connecting cables, inserting media, etc.  Blind 
users by contrast typically don't need assistance with computer 
setup/install, and we should avoid introducing a requirement for sighted 
assistance in OpenSolaris for these users.  Especially if the cost in 
space is only 1.5 - 2.4MB (less than 0.4% of the CD).

Looking at the analysis and goals (to shrink by ~70MB), the CD 
Recommendations page estimates 45MB savings from splitting 32- & 64-bit 
kernel & libraries, plus another 25MB savings from fonts (together 
totaling the 70MB goal).  Remove another 6MB for include files, plus the 
analyzed "redundant" packages for another 36MB, and you've saved 112MB - 
significantly in excess of the 70MB target.  If after all that, more 
space is still needed, we could save another 8MB by dropping Dasher and 
0.6MB by dropping GOK.  I hope this will leave more than enough room to 
keep the 10-11.4MB needed for blind accessibility on the Live CD, while 
still having lots of room left over for driver growth, etc. 

I also note that while the other distros don't include all of the 
accessibility functionality on their Live CDs, Ubuntu at least includes 
blind accessibility with theirs.  In fact, that inclusion is one of the 
main reason why Ubuntu is one of the most popular distros among blind 
users on the Orca mailing list.  We should at least do that much.  That 
said, my preference would be to also keep GOK & Dasher for the main 
languages if possible.  If my guess is correct, Dasher for the languages 
supported on the LiveCD won't be very large (though it'll take a little 
work to separate out core language from the remainder).


Regards,

Peter Korn
Accessibility Architect & Principal Engineer,
Sun Microsystems, Inc.