GRUB update borks Debian testing

[D. Hugh Redelmeier]

| From: Christopher Browne <cbbrowne-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org>

| There are times we need more than LILO / SysLinux, but it seems like a
| rather bad thing for GRUB to progress towards being nearly a kernel of
| its own :-(.

Grub was a big change from LILO.

LILO needed to be refreshed every time a new kernel was installed
since LILO didn't understand file systems: it was given a list of
blocks to boot.

GRUB does understand filesystems so just adding a stanza to
/etc/boot/menu.cfg would let it boot a new kernel.

The LILO approach has the advantage that it could be file-system
neutral / ignorant.  GRUB needs code to handle every filesystem (and
variation thereof) that it is expected to boot from.  Failing that,
the user is forced to have a separate /boot filesystem of a type that
is understood by GRUB.

Summary: LILO win: simplicity, lack of duplication of code
GRUB win: easier for user (no refresh on kernel installation)

GRUB2 now seems to throw away that advantage: since you are not
supposed to edit the config file, you have to refresh GRUB2 every time
a new kernel is installed.

GRUB still has an advantage: when grub cannot boot a kernel, it still
gives you a kind of shell that lets you play around a bit.  You can
edit menu items (for example, to change the partition being booted)
and try them.  You can also poke around a bit on filesystems.

I skimmed the tutorial John pointed out.  Nothing jumps out as a big
win for GRUB2.

+ modular building of the menu is at least theoretically a good thing.
  This could have been done with the old GRUB, but GRUB2 provides the
  tools and conventions.

- The shell scripting seems a bit abstruse.  And you still have to
  understand the new version of the grub command set.

0 the way of setting the default menu entry is just as bad as ever: a
  cardinal number rather than an ordinal number or, much better, a label.

+ the loadable modules must be good for something but that isn't
  self-evident.

+ GRUB2 understands ext4.  (I think Ubuntu put support for ext4 into
  old GRUB but that may not be widely adopted.)

All these comments are based on a slim thread: my understanding of the
tutorial.  More enlightened insights would be useful.
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