Syslinux - Aug 2011 - KRNLINUX? CPIOLINUX?

Does anyone think that it might be a worth-while effort to code a 
Syslinux variant which is a "Linux x86 kernel"-format binary and whose
"initrd" is a simple cpio archive which will comprise the root
filesystem?

One can have a disk image with an MBR, partition table, partition, 
filesystem on that partition, SYSLINUX on that filesystem, config-file 
and modules in that filesystem.  One could boot that disk image with 
MEMDISK.  But that doesn't seem as "direct" as booting Syslinux as
a
kernel and providing its root filesystem as an initrd.

One can have an .ISO with an El Torito boot record, an ISO9660 
filesystem, ISOLINUX on that filesystem, config-file and modules in that 
filesystem.  One could boot that disc image with MEMDISK.  But that 
doesn't seem as "direct," either.

The automatic, initrd-building concatenation process that Syslinux 
itself can already do might be handy for building an "initrd" for... 
A
second, booted-to Syslinux.

What do you think?  Use cases available or a waste of time?

- Shao Miller

On 08/16/2011 06:03 PM, Shao Miller wrote:
> Does anyone think that it might be a worth-while effort to code a 
> Syslinux variant which is a "Linux x86 kernel"-format binary and
whose
> "initrd" is a simple cpio archive which will comprise the root
filesystem?
> 
> One can have a disk image with an MBR, partition table, partition, 
> filesystem on that partition, SYSLINUX on that filesystem, config-file 
> and modules in that filesystem.  One could boot that disk image with 
> MEMDISK.  But that doesn't seem as "direct" as booting
Syslinux as a
> kernel and providing its root filesystem as an initrd.
> 
> One can have an .ISO with an El Torito boot record, an ISO9660 
> filesystem, ISOLINUX on that filesystem, config-file and modules in that 
> filesystem.  One could boot that disc image with MEMDISK.  But that 
> doesn't seem as "direct," either.
> 
> The automatic, initrd-building concatenation process that Syslinux 
> itself can already do might be handy for building an "initrd"
for...  A
> second, booted-to Syslinux.
> 
> What do you think?  Use cases available or a waste of time?
> 
> - Shao Miller
> 
There are definitely use cases for this.  It would be interesting to have.

	-hpa