Carbs Linux

First Year of Carbs Linux

Cem Keylan — Thu, 10 Dec 2020

First Year of Carbs Linux

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December 10, 2020 marks the first year after the initial release of Carbs -Linux. When I forked the KISS Linux repository on the 9th of December, I was -fairly new to package management. Carbs Linux used to be almost identical to -KISS Linux. A lot has changed since then:

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[2020 Jan 13] Replaced default init system to sinit
[2020 Jan 15] Packaged WebKit2GTK
[2020 May 17] Added bearssl on the testing repository
[2020 May 28] Added rsync repository support to kiss
[2020 Jun 03] Replaced bison with byacc
[2020 Jun 11] Replaced libressl with bearssl
[2020 Jun 24] Replaced kiss with cpt

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I have really enjoyed maintaining and developing this distribution, and I want -to thank everyone who was involved in some way or another. While I have slowed -down in development due to college workload, I am still actively maintaining all -the packages on the repository. I do have some ideas that I am thinking of -implementing during the semester break. Hope to see you all in January.

August 2020 News Post

Cem Keylan — Mon, 03 Aug 2020

August 2020 News Post

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We are having some stalls during this summer, as I am currently working on -university-related stuff. Nonetheless, there are some important changes that I -want to share in this month’s post.

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INDEX

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Carbs Packaging Tools
Docs
Re-opening the Carbs Linux server

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Carbs Packaging Tools

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This month I have reworked kiss into a new package manager, now renamed as -cpt. Updating kiss will now bootstrap the new package manager, so you don’t -have to manually edit your system. If you don’t like the idea of this, you can -look up the post-install script on core/kiss and apply the changes manually.

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You will also need to rename your KISS* variables to CPT*. So, KISS_PATH -becomes CPT_PATH.

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The rework changes the previous commands on the package manager into standalone -tools, and move the package manager functions to a library. This makes it easier -for a user to import functions and variables from the package manager, and -extend the package manager with their own intended way. Previously this required -ugly hacks and workarounds to use the package manager functions. I will be -making use of these changes to re-implement binary package management functions -as well.

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If you want to use the library on your script you can simply do this:

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+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
-|                                                                          |
-| #!/bin/sh                                                                |
-| . cpt-lib                                                                |
-| (...)                                                                    |
-|                                                                          |
-+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
-

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There are obviously some clean-up and simplifications needed in this new -tool-based package management method.

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Docs

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I have added documentation for the distribution, and finally updated the guide -for installation. It is now almost complete. These docs can be installed to -your system for online viewing. I will also add a documentation crawler similar -to how werc^1 works (but as an offline viewer). You can find carbs-docs from -the repository. Currently, the documentation lacks but I will be adding new -stuff. These will solely be distribution specific documentation and will not be -a wiki-like source. If anyone would like to contribute to a wiki-like -documentation source, I would happily re-open the distribution wiki. You can -find the source on https://github.com/CarbsLinux/docs

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Re-opening the Carbs Linux server

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Back in May, I had shutdown the Carbs Linux server due to financial issues, but -I am slowly reverting to the self-hosted model. Back then, the git repositories -were mirrored to GitHub, and the management was overall much more flexible. The -server used to run Carbs Linux as well (that was fun and horrifying at the same -time). Now, I will be relaunching the git server which will be the upstream -source before August 5. You can switch your remote, but GitHub will stay as a -remote nonetheless.

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EDIT: The git-server is up!

June Newspost

Cem Keylan — Wed, 17 Jun 2020

June Newspost

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This will be an active month for Carbs as major changes to the base and the -package manager will be coming up.

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Statically linking the base

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For the past couple of weeks I have been trying to simplify the base and -statically link the core (mostly binaries rather than libraries). I usually see -some people extremely opposed to static linking as I also see the opposite on -people.

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I believe that binaries on the core should always be linked statically. This -ensures that an SONAME bump to libObscure.so will not break the core -functionality of your system, forcing you to use external resources to recover -from such an issue. As long as you can compile, use core utilities, edit text, -and access the web, you can solve any given issue on your system.

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However, I don’t think that removing shared libraries is sensible either. Not -every piece of software out there is good quality enough to be statically -linked.

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Major changes on the core repository

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There have been drastic changes to the core repository and the base rootfs this -month (with more on the way). Right now changes are as follows.

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Removed from Core

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git
libressl
grub
bison
dhcpcd
ubase

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Added to Core

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bearssl, as a libressl replacement
byacc, as a bison replacement

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Statically linked

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kiss
neatvi
mandoc
byacc
m4
e2fsprogs
make
pkgconf
sbase
libnl
wpa_supplicant
bearssl

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Making the wiki available offline

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Soon, all documentation regarding Carbs Linux will be avaialable to be installed -from the core repository in a carbs-docs package along with its own document -crawler. Currently, the documentation regarding the installation process is a -little outdated which will also receive some important updates.

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ISO image for Carbs

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I am thinking of releasing an ISO image in order to provide a standardized -environment for installation along with installation helper tools in the spirit -of arch-install-scripts. Let’s see how that’s going to play out.

kiss 2.0.0 and overall changes

Cem Keylan — Thu, 28 May 2020

kiss 2.0.0 and overall changes

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Carbs Linux kiss version 2.0.0 has been released which introduces -rsync repositories.

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Git is no longer a mandatory dependency for the package manager, -every git source on the core repository has been replaced with -https sources (sbase, sinit), and rootfs tarballs will no longer -ship with git. Repositories in the upcoming tarball will be rsync -repositories.

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Git is now on the extra repository and is still (optionally) -used in the package manager.

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The idea behind this change is size reductions and increased -speed with rsync. As I said on the previous post, git repositories -get larger and larger over the time span. Currently my personal -copy of the git repository is around 77MB and I have forked KISS -Linux (as a shallow copy) around December. Obviously, I have commits -that I ommitted. I tend to create commits I dislike, which I change -with ‘git reset –soft HEAD^’, which doesn’t actually remove the -commits, etc. A user will have a repository much smaller than mine.

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This is a precaution with the added bonuses of speed and dropping a -mandatory dependency.

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You can see the rest of the changelog here.

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Binary Repositories

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A few days ago, I have also published kiss-bin, a first version -for managing binary repositories. Currently, there are some caveats -that I’ll be fixing along the way. I decided not to include this -in the package manager natively as managing the source based and -binary based packages together adds levels of complexity that we -do not want. Instead, this is an extension for kiss which sources -the package manager as a library. I hope to see it being adopted -by others interested on the matter as well.

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That’s about it.

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Cheers, -Cem

The Relation of Carbs and KISS

Cem Keylan — Fri, 08 May 2020

The Relation of Carbs and KISS

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Date: May 08 2020

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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.

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History

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Differences between KISS and Carbs

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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.

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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.

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What I’m working on now

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Currently I have a few projects that I’m working on for Carbs. -These are,

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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.

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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.

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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.

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What’s up with all the init/service daemons?

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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.

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Why I don’t publicize Carbs

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There are a couple of reasons I don’t publicize Carbs a lot.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Cheers, -Cem

Outsource Repository Concept

Cem Keylan — Fri, 10 Apr 2020

Outsource Repository Concept

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In April 3rd, I have added submodule support for Carbs -Linux’s fork of kiss. Now, from that sentence, it really -doesn’t sound exciting at all. But in reality, it opens a -path to lots of creative output, and a better way to manage -multi-user repositories (such as KISS Community).

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When managing a repository of submodules, the repository -maintainer’s only job is to deal with adding packages. -A package maintainer doesn’t have to wait for the repository -maintainer to update their packages, as they are only making -the changes to their own repositories.

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This way, an end-user can also track from their preferred -maintainers, and do that with the tidyness of a single repository -in their KISS_PATH.

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Carbs Linux now has an outsource repository for some packages. -Firefox and its dependencies have been purged from the main repository, -but can be found on it.

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https://github.com/CarbsLinux/outsource

Roadmap for Carbs

Cem Keylan — Mon, 06 Apr 2020

Roadmap for Carbs

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It has been a busy week. There are lots of changes in -direction, and more to come. I want to talk a little -about all of them.

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Carbs Linux Server Going Down

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It became harder to maintain and pay for the server, and I will be -shutting it down in May. I am currently in the phase of -carrying over everything to Github. The repository and the -website is served on Github now. I have also moved the Wiki -to Github and anyone can edit it there. There are some outdated -posts that I will be fixing around this week.

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I am not quite sure where to store the downloads page now. But I -will be switching that to a new source as well. (Maybe Source Forge?)

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I feel a little sad for switching, but serving on Github is faster, -cheaper, and hassle-free.

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Forking KISS

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I had a personal fork of KISS, which I enjoyed thoroughly. I didn’t -intend to make it the default when I started it, but it has matured -enough to be so. The package manager can now be found on this repository. -See it for the added changes.

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This will be a change for the better, as I can develop the package -manager as it fits my views.

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Small Changes on the Website

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I have made some small changes on the website. The build is not dependent -on Plan9 utilities anymore. It was fun messing around with rc and mk, -but they are quite limited compared to POSIX shell.

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RSS feeds are finally working as intended, both for the news section, and -the blog secion.

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You can see every page’s .txt output at the end of the page by clicking -‘View Page Source’. Meanwhile, I will be updating some pages to be a little -more ‘human-readable’.

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Outsources Repository

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I have opened an outsource repository, which I will be pushing this week. -I will add a new post when I am ready to push it. I think it will be interesting, -it will also make more sense about the changes I have added to the package -manager. The now empty repository, can be found here!

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New Tarball

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Finally, I have released a new tarball today, which can be obtained from the -downloads page.

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I am planning to add more of these update posts as I’m feeling better about -the website structure overall.

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- Cem

Switching to New Website

Cem Keylan — Tue, 28 Jan 2020

Switching to New Website

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Date: Jan 28 2020

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In case you haven’t seen it before, this website -was powered by werc. And -even though I liked it really much, it was too -powerful for a small website like this.

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So I have decided to reimplement this website with -my own static generation scripts. The source will -probably be on https://carbslinux.org/git/website/log.html -when I decide to publish the website.

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The generation requires Plan9 programs, although -I have used them just for my enthusiasm. I have built -the site with a combination of mk (instead of make), rc, -and POSIX sh. I am not yet exactly familiar with rc, -but I will replace the shell scripts when I feel like -I can.