[poky] directdisk images - replace the image type with a script?

[Darren Hart]

I recently discovered that the directdisk images are malformed:

http://bugzilla.pokylinux.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1028

While reviewing the directdisk recipe, I'm wondering if this image type
has any real usage model. These are x86 specific. They partition a file
image so when written to a real disk you get goofy partition tables
(partitions do not end on cylinder boundaries).

The current recipes mangle the .cfg file (writing binary data over the
text file - I'm guessing the dd commands do this).

We could patch this up, but is it worth it? All the other systems create
ext3 images which are then installed on a disk per the instructions in
the README.hardware document. The live image provides a simple
dd-to-disk-and-boot solution. It seems to me the directdisk idea could
be replaced with a script "mksyslinuximage.sh" or similar that took the
image and kernel to use and the drive to partition, install syslinux on,
and copy the filesystem to.

Thoughts?

-- 
Darren Hart
Intel Open Source Technology Center
Yocto Project - Linux Kernel