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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Recent disruptive changes from Setuptools (lwn.net)

submitted 2 weeks ago by HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org to c/linux@lemmy.ml

12 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Discussing a breaking change in Python's setuptools.

The really interesting part is in the discussion section.... and it shows once more how incredibly well-designed the GNU Guix package manager is -- which solves these problems very very well, for arbitrary languages and with a fast growing distribution of, by now, about 50,000 packages.

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[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

"I use Nix, btw"

[–] HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org 1 points 1 week ago

Yes, Nix solves the same problem. The main difference is that the language used for package descriptions is less attractive to some developers compared to the language which Guix uses, which is Guile Scheme. Guile is very mature, well documented and has good performance.

I think that will give Guix an advantage in the long run, since for a successful disyribution, one needs a bunch of packages and for this, volunteers need to write package definitions and maintain them. Guix makes it easier to write definitions.

Clearly the strict focus on FLOSS will prevent some packages like NVidia drivers from appearing there. But on the other hand, this gives you a system which you will be able to completely compile from source in 10 years time.