buddies can more easily read the CD. The Joliet (for Windows), Rock
Ridge (for UNIX), and HSF (for Mac) extensions to the ISO9660
standard are used to accommodate long filenames rather than the eight-
character DOS filenames that the ISO9660 standard supports.
-l—Allows 31-character filenames; DOS does not like it, but everyone
else does.
-o—Defines the directory where the image will be written (that is, the
output) and its name. The /tmp directory is convenient for this purpose,
but the image could go anywhere you have write permissions.
/source_directory—Indicates the path to the source directory—
that is, the directory containing the files you want to include. There are
ways to append additional paths and exclude directories (and files) under
the specified path; it is all explained in the man page, so check there if
you need that level of complexity. The simple solution is to construct a
new directory tree and populate it with the files you want to copy and
then make the image using that directory as the source.Many more options are available, including options to make the CD bootable.
After you have created the ISO image, you can write it to the CD with the
cdrecord command:
Click here to view code image
matthew@seymour~:$ cdrecord -eject -v speed=12 dev=0,0,0
/tmp/our_special_cd.iso
The options used in this example are as follows:
-eject—Ejects the CD when the write operation is finished.
-v—Displays verbose messages.
speed=—Sets the speed; the rate depends on the individual drive’s
capabilities. If the drive or the recordable medium is poor, you can use
lower speeds to get a good burn.
dev=—Specifies the device number of the CD writer.
NOTE
You can also use the blank = option with the cdrecord command to
erase CD-RW discs. The cdrecord command has fewer options than
mkisofs does, but it offers the -multi option, which enables you to
make multisession CDs. A multisession CD enables you to write a data
track, quit, and then add more data to the CD later. A single-session CD can