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diff --git a/src/blog/20200508.md b/src/blog/20200508.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f4c2b2f --- /dev/null +++ b/src/blog/20200508.md @@ -0,0 +1,140 @@ +Title: The Relation of Carbs and KISS + +**Date:** May 08 2020 + +Since I have forked KISS, I have received many questions +that can be summarized as "Why?". I have realized that I +never truly answered this question. That's the reason I am +writing this post, to give some background on Carbs, and +some differences between KISS Linux and Carbs Linux for +anyone who may be wondering. Perhaps I could make this a +"FAQ" page later on. + +History +------- + +I had the idea of creating my own Linux distribution since +the May of 2019. Back then, I had my own [Linux from Scratch] +build, and I wanted to slim it down my own way and replace +the software (with musl,sbase,etc.). The name Carbs Linux +was in my mind since then. I wanted to write my own package +manager, but I wasn't satisfied with anything I had built. + +I had written some incomplete package managers (all named `fat`) +and I quickly threw them into the trash can, where they +honestly belonged. I would want to share them with you for +laughs, but my hard-drive got wiped and I have a problem +of not doing an "initial commit" until a program I write +is in a usable state. + +I have obtained the 'carbslinux.org' domain name in September +2019, but then life got on the way, and I stopped for a long +time. + +One day on Reddit, I saw Dylan's post on [r/unixporn] about +KISS, and I really thought that it was interesting. Here is +my [comment] to Dylan on that post. I checked out the package +manager and the repository. The packaging system was extremely +clean and well-thought. I decided to give it a go and fork +KISS. + +[Linux from Scratch]: https://linuxfromscratch.org +[r/unixporn]: https://reddit.com/r/unixporn +[comment]: https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/comments/ducd34/sowm_kiss_d/f7lua7x + + +Differences between KISS and Carbs +---------------------------------- + +Now, I still baffle when people ask me this question. My +intention was never to create a distribution with specific +differences between KISS. My intention was being my own +BDFL of a distribution I maintain. There are lots of +differences between the main repositories, but they are subtle +and not worth talking about. I personally never even installed +KISS Linux on my system. So Carbs, isn't something like a +downstream fork of KISS, it is just a distribution that was +initially based on KISS. + +I try to contribute as much as I can to KISS Linux. I think +that it is a brilliant distribution, and it was a great starting +point for Carbs. I am really grateful to Dylan and all the +other contributors. + + +What I'm working on now +----------------------- + +Currently I have a few projects that I'm working on for Carbs. +These are, + +A BSD port for Carbs. For a while, I have been working on BSD +compatibility on my fork of the [package manager]. I have tested, +without any more issues, on OpenBSD and FreeBSD. The biggest +issues remaining are choosing a vendor for BSD, packaging the +BSD source, and providing a minimal base (like busybox for BSD). +If you aren't familiar with BSD, BSD has a single source code +for all of the utilities. Contributions (even chipping in ideas) +are very welcome. + +Adding binary package distribution support natively to the package +manager. Biggest issue in small/old computers are compile times. +This feature is for the bigger packages such as webkit, clang, +llvm that take a considerable amount of time. Some computers +with low memories cannot even compile firefox/webkit. + +Adding rsync repository support to the package manager. This +is not a current issue, but rather a futureproofing. As time +passes, distribution repositories grow larger. KISS and Carbs +are young distributions without this problem right now. But +in something like 5 years, this size will presumably increase +to hundreds of megabytes. At that point it will be pointless +to have the repository sources unless you specifically need them. + + +[package manager]: https://github.com/carbslinux/kiss + + +What's up with all the init/service daemons? +-------------------------------------------- + +If you have ever checked the [repository], you may have noticed +that there are lots of init/service related packages. I have had +my fair share of time with all of them, and it is an area that I +am really interested in. I have even written my own [init daemon] +and [service supervisor]. I maintain all those packages on KISS +Community Repository as well with the exception of busybox. Those +are, `busybox init/runit`, `runit`, `sinit`, and `sysmgr`. I would +definitely recommend checking out `shinit` and `sysmgr`. + +[repository]: https://github.com/carbslinux/repository +[init daemon]: https://github.com/cemkeylan/shinit +[service supervisor]: https://github.com/cemkeylan/sysmgr + + +Why I don't publicize Carbs +--------------------------- + +There are a couple of reasons I don't publicize Carbs a lot. + +KISS is the better alternative in terms of support and community. +I work on maintaining this distribution just as hard as Dylan, +but in the end, Carbs is based on his original hard work, and I +believe that he deserves the recognition more than I do. + +Since I cannot answer questions like "What is the difference?", I +prefer staying as the silent sibling project of KISS Linux. Plus, +there is no point in dividing the newly-emerging community in half. + +That's not because I don't have ideas for the future of Carbs, I +do. I just think that I will deserve the recognition once those +above lists are checked. + + +I think that's about it, if you have questions you can send me a +mail, ping me on IRC (my handle is `merakor`), and I will be happy +to answer. Maybe your question fits this post, and I can update it +to thoroughly give an explanation. + +Cheers, +Cem |