Building and installing cdemu for Debian using Docker

In this tutorial, I'll walk you through the process of building and installing cdemu on Debian using Docker. cdemu is a virtual CD/DVD drive emulator for Linux that allows you to mount and manage disc images.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure that you have the following prerequisites:

• Docker installed on your Debian system.
• Git installed to clone the cdemu repository.

Step 1: Clone the cdemu Repository

First, clone the original cdemu repository from GitHub using the following command:

git clone --branch vhba-module-20211218 https://github.com/cdemu/cdemu.git

This will create a local copy of the cdemu repository on your system.

Step 2: Obtain Your Debian Version Codename

To build the cdemu package, you need to know the codename of your Debian distribution. To find it, open a terminal and run the following command:

lsb_release -cs

Note down the codename as you'll need it in the next step.

Step 3: Copy the Dockerfile and Build the Docker Image

Copy the provided Dockerfile into the cloned cdemu folder. Then, open the Dockerfile in a text editor and update the builder base image's codename (first line in the Dockerfile) with the one you obtained in Step 2.

Navigate to the cdemu folder in the terminal and build the Docker image using the following command:

docker build --progress=plain -t cdemu:dev .

This command will create a Docker image with the cdemu Debian packages (deb-files).

Step 4: Copy cdemu deb files to Your Local Machine

Next, copy the cdemu deb files from the Docker image to your local machine. Perform the following steps:

docker run -d --name=cdemu cdemu:dev
docker start cdemu
rm -rf ./build
docker cp cdemu:/build/ ./build

The cdemu deb files are now copied into the ./build folder on your local machine.

Step 5: Install cdemu deb Packages

To install cdemu on your system use the following command:

sudo apt install ./build/*.deb

This command will install all the required cdemu packages on your Debian system.

Step 6: Run the cdemu GUI

With cdemu installed, you can now run the gcdemu command to open the graphical user interface (GUI) for managing virtual CD/DVD drives:

gcdemu

You're all set! You have successfully built and installed cdemu on your Debian system using Docker. Now you can use gcdemu to mount and manage disc images with ease. Enjoy using cdemu for a seamless virtual disc experience!