NetRyder
Tech Junkie
- Joined
- 19 Apr 2002
- Messages
- 13,256
I think I may have found a new favorite distro.
Most of you who have known me for a while know that I've been a Slackware junkie for a long time. Ever since I formatted my Slack partition about a month ago though, I've had my eyes on Arch.
It's a relatively young distribution (currently at version 0.6), but it takes the best of Slack - the simplicity, minimalism, and lightweight-nature, and adds to it a superb package management system (note that Arch is not based on Slack in any way).
I've been using this new toy for about a week now. Here are some of the things I really like about Arch:
- ABS and pacman: These two make up the package-management system in Arch. Whereas, pacman is responsible for the binary side, ABS takes on the source side and allows you to very easily build your own packages from source. ABS uses a ports tree structure. Both systems manage dependencies REALLY well. I even upgraded my kernel from 2.6.3 to 2.6.7 using just "pacman -Syu", with no further intervention. Rebooted to find everything just perfect. No missing modules, no extra modules. Now that's just awesome.
- Lightweight: install just what you need. You can download a small ISO with only the base packages, and install just that to get the most basic Linux system possible. Then use pacman/ABS to install only what you need. This is the approach I used, and it makes for a very, very clean system.
- Speed: This was something that really impressed me. I used to think Slack was fast. Arch is screaming. Base install took about 10 minutes flat (it uses an ncurses-based installer like Slack). Packages, even large ones like X and Gnome, install extremely fast. All packages are i686-optimized by default as well. System bootup time from the BIOS screen to a useable state is less than 15 seconds.
- Teaches you linux: This is another aspect that makes Arch so much like Slack. I first started my Linux experience with Redhat 6.x back in the day. Moved onto several other distros like Mandrake, Lycoris, Debian, Knoppix etc. Slackware was the first distro that made me learn the intricacies of the system. Arch is the same. No wizards and extras for every little task...most of the post-install configuration is done by editing files yourself. Depending on your personal preference, this may be a good or a bad thing. I prefer this approach because, in my opinion, wizards hide what is really going on backstage. That's all well and good if everything works the first time you try it...which is rare in the Linux world. If something doesn't work, and you're completely dependent on wizards and GUI-tools, you wouldn't know where to start looking to fix the issue. Arch is almost exactly like Slack in this respect, and I love it for that.
As I said, I may have found my new distro of choice. Even if I do continue to stay with Arch though, I'll always have great respect for Slack, not only because it was responsible for teaching me everything I know about the Linux system, but also because it's one of the oldest and most mature and proven Linux distros around.
I know there are lots of other Slack fans here, which is why I decided to post this rather detailed thread. I highly recommend at least giving Arch a shot to see how you like it...perhaps on a separate partition or a different machine.
I don't think you'll be disappointed.
http://www.archlinux.org
Most of you who have known me for a while know that I've been a Slackware junkie for a long time. Ever since I formatted my Slack partition about a month ago though, I've had my eyes on Arch.
It's a relatively young distribution (currently at version 0.6), but it takes the best of Slack - the simplicity, minimalism, and lightweight-nature, and adds to it a superb package management system (note that Arch is not based on Slack in any way).
I've been using this new toy for about a week now. Here are some of the things I really like about Arch:
- ABS and pacman: These two make up the package-management system in Arch. Whereas, pacman is responsible for the binary side, ABS takes on the source side and allows you to very easily build your own packages from source. ABS uses a ports tree structure. Both systems manage dependencies REALLY well. I even upgraded my kernel from 2.6.3 to 2.6.7 using just "pacman -Syu", with no further intervention. Rebooted to find everything just perfect. No missing modules, no extra modules. Now that's just awesome.
- Lightweight: install just what you need. You can download a small ISO with only the base packages, and install just that to get the most basic Linux system possible. Then use pacman/ABS to install only what you need. This is the approach I used, and it makes for a very, very clean system.
- Speed: This was something that really impressed me. I used to think Slack was fast. Arch is screaming. Base install took about 10 minutes flat (it uses an ncurses-based installer like Slack). Packages, even large ones like X and Gnome, install extremely fast. All packages are i686-optimized by default as well. System bootup time from the BIOS screen to a useable state is less than 15 seconds.
- Teaches you linux: This is another aspect that makes Arch so much like Slack. I first started my Linux experience with Redhat 6.x back in the day. Moved onto several other distros like Mandrake, Lycoris, Debian, Knoppix etc. Slackware was the first distro that made me learn the intricacies of the system. Arch is the same. No wizards and extras for every little task...most of the post-install configuration is done by editing files yourself. Depending on your personal preference, this may be a good or a bad thing. I prefer this approach because, in my opinion, wizards hide what is really going on backstage. That's all well and good if everything works the first time you try it...which is rare in the Linux world. If something doesn't work, and you're completely dependent on wizards and GUI-tools, you wouldn't know where to start looking to fix the issue. Arch is almost exactly like Slack in this respect, and I love it for that.
As I said, I may have found my new distro of choice. Even if I do continue to stay with Arch though, I'll always have great respect for Slack, not only because it was responsible for teaching me everything I know about the Linux system, but also because it's one of the oldest and most mature and proven Linux distros around.
I know there are lots of other Slack fans here, which is why I decided to post this rather detailed thread. I highly recommend at least giving Arch a shot to see how you like it...perhaps on a separate partition or a different machine.
I don't think you'll be disappointed.
http://www.archlinux.org