Inside Out
Notes on seeking wisdom and crafting software

Proud Arch-er

ℹ️ The user switched from OpenSuSE to Arch Linux due to difficulties in getting updates and managing dependencies. They were attracted by the simplicity of Arch Linux, rapid system boot up time, and ability to see all installed packages. The user recommends OpenSuSE for newcomers to Linux and OSS.

After sticking with OpenSuSE for a long time (read 2 years), I finally got one of the bleeding edge distros : Arch Linux↗.Arch Logo Oh and the answers to the WHY :

  • Updates. Getting the updates was quite tough. There is this way of starting up Yast and getting the full system update, but I was really lazy to add up sources and get the packages. Well I follow quite a few opensource projects and build stuff from svn/cvs repositories.

- Too much dependency. I could never keep track of the extra packages i needed to run a software. Now someone can argue that its the software developer's problem. But still i would say the RPM way was becoming tougher for me. - Finally, to be frank, My System needed a life (even I also need one ;-)). I believe that the system should do one stuff and do it properly (unix fundae).

I had tried to customize SuSE to as much as I could. Removing all the unnecessary stuff which bloat the system etc.. Just for history : I could get my system running with a desktop manager (e17) and music player daemon at \~50 MB of RAM.

Apart from all this, I would still say that OpenSuSE rocks. For someone new to linux and OSS, I would definitely recommend OpenSuSE. Even the new OpenSuSE build service (http://en.opensuse.org/Build_Service↗) seems promising.

Now I had the option to go for Gentoo or Arch Linux. After reading a few reviews, I got the impression that in gentoo i will have more of a source based system (correct me if I am wrong !). Here are the answers for "Why Arch" ?
  • Simplicity (The Keep It Simple Stupid! principle). Save the precious CPU cycles. I was really fascinated by the Arch philosophy↗.
  • Its more of experiment and learn. Do it yourself stuff.
  • Full system upgrade with a single command : pacman -Syu !
  • All system configurations are maintained in a few files.

Some facts about my current setup :

- Rapid improvement in my system boot up time. I get full X running with in 20-30 seconds ! - I can practically see what all packages are installed in my system and do periodic cleanups. (Will write a script for that) - Update my system daily :-)

I will follow up with a “How to : Arch” in a few days.

Blogged with Flock↗

Tags: archlinux↗, opensuse↗, linux↗