Is there a linux distro, that is not installed, but runs from the browser?

Question

I remember hearing about something similar.

My constraints are:

• It may not be installed on the machine
• It may not be booted via USB or LiveCD

What I need, in decreasing order of priority:
0. free
1. gcc, binutils, bash
2. low network traffic e.g. =< 1kbps
3. sufficient resources to cross-compile gcc
4. ability to install programs from repos

Answer 1

I don't really understand why you have such unusual constraints. No installation, no live CD and low network traffic excludes the obvious solutions like booting a distro from USB, setting up a VM or using a remote system via SSH.

How do you actually plan to run such a system? If you really only have a browser check out the JavaScript qemu port. But I doubt that you have enough resources to cross compile applications or that you will be able to use such a system efficiently.

1. free

Most of the linux distributions are free.

1. gcc, binutils, bash

Most of the distributions ship with those apps either pre-installed or installable via packet manager or from source.

1. low network traffic e.g. =< 1kbps

Linux distributions don't generate network traffic. It's the applications that generate the traffic. But the problem here probably is that I don't understand what you want to do.

1. sufficient resources to cross-compile gcc

That's the crucial point here. The JavaScript solution does not provide sufficient resources and you are not allowed to install a distribution locally.

1. ability to install programs from repos

Possible with most of the available distributions.

Depending on what you actually want to do, I guess the best way is to set up a remote server and using an SSH solution which allows access from a browser (e.g. via Java applet). The network traffic is low and you don't need to install additional software.

Answer 2

you could create an appliance with susestudio and include any tools from opensuse's repos(external repos or uploaded packages). After creating a appliance you can run it from susestudio's Testdrive(vnc'ing into an VM). That would solve everything besides #3. The VM is only given 512mb RAM/512 swap and the testdrive session only last for an hour(to prevent people was wasting their resources.)

Answer 3

You cold get a cheap machine to do your experiments on, or even use Amazon's EC2 or some similar service.