this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2023
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Well, Arch is not inherently better, it depends on your needs. If you want up-to-date packages and don't mind the do it yourself approach you'll love Arch. I've used Arch for a few years and learned a lot from it. I love the minimalism. Now I switched to a minimal install of Sway on Debian because I just want a tried and tested stable system. I am at a point of my life where I want a really boring install. Instead of tinkering with the system I use it as a base to learn more on the server side, and learn more coding, etc
Ironically my day to day experience was harder with Debian than Arch, it was a pain trying to find up-to-date packages for pretty much everything I needed
But why is up-to-date always good though?I get it if you actually need the new version but that's rare though. There's a reason that critical infrastructure relies on more stable, older and tested packages. In the industry and where the money actually is, older is generally seen as better and more mature. For example the whole drama of RedHat with Centos Stream happened because people don't want to use upstream Centos Stream because it's the testing ground for RHEL. I am at a stage where I prefer older packages. The new and shiny doesn't mean it's better.
Just try using any modern framework/language/library/tool/whatever with the packages that exist by default in the Debian repository, it's impossible and a pain in the ass
What framework do you actually use ? Most programmers use Ubuntu or Debian and I don't see how you need something so up to date and on the edge? Apart from some specific cases, most people do not need newer packages.