From e7999a032bd888abf3665c501a754dbb922fe7c9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Cem Keylan Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2021 03:39:56 +0300 Subject: Switch to org-mode for generating the website --- blog/20200508.org | 98 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 98 insertions(+) create mode 100644 blog/20200508.org (limited to 'blog/20200508.org') diff --git a/blog/20200508.org b/blog/20200508.org new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c303634 --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/20200508.org @@ -0,0 +1,98 @@ +#+TITLE: The Relation of Carbs and KISS +#+AUTHOR: Cem Keylan +#+DATE: <2020-05-08 Fri> + +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 [[https://linuxfromscratch.org][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 [[https://reddit.com/r/unixporn][r/unixporn]] about KISS, and I really +thought that it was interesting. Here is my [[https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/comments/ducd34/sowm_kiss_d/f7lua7x][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. + +** 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, it has a single source code for all of the +utilities (kernel, command line programs, etc.). 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. + +** What's up with all the init/service daemons? + +If you have ever checked the [[https://github.com/carbslinux/repository][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 [[https://github.com/cemkeylan/shinit][init daemon]] and [[https://github.com/cemkeylan/sysmgr][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=. + +** 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. -- cgit v1.2.3