:: Re: [DNG] /usr merge
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Author: Hendrik Boom
Date:  
To: dng
Subject: Re: [DNG] /usr merge
On Sun, Jan 29, 2023 at 04:31:46AM -0500, Steve Litt wrote:
> tito via Dng said on Sun, 29 Jan 2023 00:03:33 +0100
>
>
> >Hi,
> >apparently it is simple in reality it is not:
> >a monster folder of 3177 + 139 files
> >would be created on my desktop box
> >by merging /bin and /usr/bin and
> >it doesn't seem to me this helps a lot
> >to diagnose and fix problems if you
> >have some.
> >In the beginnings of my linux journey
> >some twenty and some years ago
> >I was fascinated by the fact that I could
> >create a full linux system with vesa video
> >and desktop in 1 or 2 1,44mb floppies,
> >everything was neat, clean and understandable
> >and this was a huge difference to the MS windows
> >systems that resembled voodoo and black magic.
> >This facts pushed me to embrace linux and the KISS
> >philosophy in computing and in life.
> >Nowadays I see a trend to trade KISS (and freedom
> >and privacy) for comfort and in the end
> >the man will transit from being able to
> >control complex machines to being controlled
> >by machines and AI algorithms nobody really
> >understands (but we trained it with TBs of data....
> >yet it will not be the same as 4 million years of evolution).
> >For me the KISS rule should be:
> >if it is needed to boot the system put it in /bin,/sbin,/lib
> >and if the resulting filesystem is bigger than a floppy
> >you are doing it wrong. Everything else goes in /usr.
> >
> >Just my 0.2 cents.
>
> I see your point, but going back to a couple megabyte for the OS is
> impossible for any distro providing more than CLI and a few simple
> servers. I think what you need is Slackware, Linux From Scratch, Plop
> Linux, or a time machine.
>
> I guess that was kind of snarky but seriously, if all you need is a
> simple server and want a tiny OS, use Slackware of LFS. Or maybe *BSD.
>
> As for me, if a Linux distro doesn't give me LyX, VSCode, a few
> different browsers, Claws, Mutt and Evolution (because at any time one
> or two are screwing up), Gnumeric, Inkscape, Python3, Python2 because
> some dumbasses refuse to recode their software in Python 3, rsync, Lua,
> and a C compiler with all libraries and header files, then I can't use
> that distro. I don't think I'm alone in this.


Devuan should be able to have a minimal install that's only a simpe sever and a tiny OS.

And it should be able to hae a Steve-Litt-install, with all the stuff you want.
Most users probablu will want this.

User choice.

>
> You know, if I really, truly hated the /usr merge I'd find a
> workaround. There's nothing preventing you from copying the necessary
> files to /bin and /lib, then having early boot run a shellscript to do
> the mounts after the boot is almost finished. Or I'm sure there are
> five more ways to work around it. And once I worked around it, I'd
> document my workaround so everyone can do it. You've seen me post links
> to such documentation.


Why shouldn't that workaround be the base system?

> The perfect is the enemy of the good. Devuan kicked systemd off your
> system. That's good. That's great. It would be perfect to back out the
> /usr merge, but not if that effort prevents them from addressing new
> halloween code constantly introduced by redhat, opendesktop, poettering
> and his new employer microsoft.
>
> SteveT
>
> Steve Litt
> Autumn 2022 featured book: Thriving in Tough Times
> http://www.troubleshooters.com/bookstore/thrive.htm
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