this post was submitted on 24 Aug 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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You can run programs requiring glibc on musl-based distros using a simple chroot though (not to mention using Flatpak/Snap or similar solutions).
Also, as someone who uses a distro without systemd (Void) - my boot and shutdown are both very fast and service management is simple (I didn’t need to read any documentation to define new daemons, I just looked at existing definitions); this is in contrast to my experience the last few times I used systemd distros.
I even had a Debian setup I used regularly with SysV init a few years ago, which also had way better boot/shutdown times than with systemd (on the same exact setup otherwise). Service management was a pain with SysV though.
“It’s Linux with extra work!” isn’t a convincing argument for musl based distros.
I ran FreeBSD as my desktop for a long time, and I’m quite fond of it. However, most new software is written for GNU/Linux, and I got tired of fighting against it. (I still run FreeBSD on my personal servers.)
I ran Alpine for a while, and as much as I wanted to like it, software had to be ported to it. It’s the same problem the BSDs have. Software has to be ported to them, and if that’s the case, there’s not much of a point in running Linux for me.
It’s cool people are trying an alternate libc with the Linux kernel. Alpine seems to have made some good progress on porting software, and musl has progressed from what I’ve heard.
That life isn’t for me. If I wanted that, I know where to get it.
Runit still uses shell scripts to start the services, like most alternate init systems, and I’d rather not write shell scripts for services.
There are other niceties with systemd, like timers are an upgrade over cron, as well as some very idiotic decisions, especially for the server side. Overall it’s a nice init for desktops.