[ale] Arch Linux anyone?

Wed Mar 24 20:47:44 EDT 2021

+1 agree 99%, although I use Manjaro (Arch derivative) and installation 
is easier IMHO … if a little more bloat.  My next install will be Arch 
directly most likely.

AUR is awesome, but sometimes things don’t build.  Its rare.

Docs are incredible, and this is my favorite part really.

On 24 Mar 2021, at 19:37, David Jackson via Ale wrote:

> Hey Jonathan!
>
> Yeah, I'm a Linux is Linux guy too, but what I like about Arch is the 
> DIY
> aspect and its minimalism.  When I install any of the big distros, 
> there's
> always a TON of stuff on the system that I don't even know what it 
> does, so
> I just ignore it.  For example, if I take a Fedora box I have nearby I 
> can
> see something like 3300 packages plus.  On this Arch box there are 
> 684.
> And I actually got to see those installing, so I'll even recognize a 
> lot of
> the package names.  Now, I realize that I could have installed a 
> minimal or
> server version of Fedora or whatever distro you'd care to name, but 
> now
> that I'm used to Arch, I don't think I will.
>
> Next, repositories.  So far, I just haven't found any software that 
> isn't
> in either the normal community repos or the AUR (Arch User Repo).
> Everytime I think I found an obscure piece of software I say, "Ah ha!
> Gotcha now!"  Nope.  It's there.  Sometimes in several versions, like 
> one
> with Qt widgets or another version with gtk widgets.  Sometimes 
> there's a
> version that tracks the latest development version and another version 
> that
> tracks the stable version.  I just haven't stopped being impressed by
> that.  Plus, the AUR is sort of like a BSD ports tree in that it often
> builds the package in a jiffy on today's faster computers.  So it 
> "just
> works" in my humble experience, no matter what my goofy hardware du
> jur happens to be.
>
> Famous documentation.  With Arch the command line is your GUI.  So it
> encourages me to always be learning more CLI rather than more Yast or
> something.  So whatever the problem is, I know I can probably solve it 
> with
> a CLI.  An example is with installation.  Normally you boot up the 
> ISO, you
> get a CLI, and you do housekeeping and start running chroot type 
> commands
> (after installing a base system) and so forth.  Unless I do 
> installations
> every day, I have to look up my notes, and that takes more time, and 
> it
> gets to be a pain.  Besides, I started with Slackware 3.0 in 1996 on a
> semi-compliant 386, so I figure I paid my dues!  I wanted to put this 
> stuff
> in a script and be done with it.  Easy enough to do with the
> documentation.  I found it easy to stay superficial when I needed
> superficial and easy also to dive deep where I needed to plumb the 
> depths.
> Great documentation.
>
> Rolling distro.  I really haven't had a stability problem with Arch.  
> I get
> the latest kernel and software versions, and this is just on my 
> personal
> rig(s), so I'm not having to support anyone else.  Everything just 
> works
> for me.
>
> The community seems okay.  I really haven't had a lot to do with the
> community.  Googling has seemed to help me find whatever I've needed 
> so
> far.  Sometimes I see people getting told to RTFM, but I think that's 
> not
> always unfair either.  Folks seem to figure out somewhat quickly 
> whether
> Arch is something for them or not.  There's kind of a meme that Arch 
> users
> are snobs and that Arch is so hard that you must be a genius to use 
> it, but
> that's clearly folklore.  Installing Slackware from floppy disks was
> waaaaay more complicated!!!  :-D
>
> No, it's just a rolling minimalist distro that lets you figure out how 
> you
> want to do linux and make it your way.  But is it really any better 
> than
> doing a minimal/server distro with Fedora/CentOS or whatever, and 
> building
> your own Fedora/Whatever distro?  Not sure.  Probably not.  I do find 
> the
> repos easier on Arch.  I never quite grokked the COPR repos or the
> Silverblue distro.  From what I hear Silverblue is more of a rolling
> release format for Fedora?  Is that right?  Never tried a server 
> install on
> Ubuntu.  Might be comparable.
>
> Anyway, just my $0.02.  Hope it adds a little bit to your day!
>
> Dave
>
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 24, 2021 at 6:21 PM Jonathan L. Meek via Ale <ale at ale.org>
> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, Mar 24, 2021 at 11:54:07AM -0400, David Jackson via Ale 
>> wrote:
>> I have heard of Arch Linux but haven't quite understood it. Would 
>> mind
>> telling what pulls you to use Arch Linux as a daily driver? I am
>> honestly curious, not trying to start a flame war on the internet 
>> :-D.
>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> I was just wondering if anyone here was into Arch Linux.  I could 
>>> use
>> some
>>> feedback for my install scripts...  :-D
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance!
>>> Dave
>>
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