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.

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

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 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.

Why I don’t publicize Carbs

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.

The Relation of Carbs and KISS

posted on 2020-05-08

+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. +

+ +

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 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. +

+ +

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. +