Debian Gets Forked
Legendary Uber-distro splits over the systemd controversy.
A group of Debian developers have announced that they are forking the Debian source code to start a new Linux project, which they have dubbed Devuan (pronounced “DevOne” in English). The group, which calls itself the Veteran Unix Admin (VUA) collective, is alarmed about the drift of most major Linux distos toward the systemd service manager daemon. A service manager is the first process that starts on a Linux system, and it has the role of starting other processes. The init tool served as a universal service manager for Linux and for many Unix systems until recently, when several Linux vendors became concerned that the init code was too slow and not versatile enough for modern systems.
Fedora, Red Hat, and SUSE have all switched to using systemd instead of init. Ubuntu launched Upstart as an init alternative, but when the mainstream Debian project switched to systemd, Ubuntu, which is based on Debian code, adopted systemd also. Many developers, however, are concerned that systemd places restrictions on freedom and flexibility by making too many assumptions about the environment. They also say systemd doesn't work well with core Linux components such as Xorg. According to the Devuan developers, “We believe this situation is also the result of a longer process leading to the take-over of Debian by the Gnome project.”
Because so many other distros are built from the Debian codebase, changing Debian to systemd almost guarantees that many downstream distros will have to change with it. The Devuan developers say they want to offer an alternative for users, developers, and distributions that want to continue to support init.
Those who celebrate diversity and choice as important values for the Linux community will be happy to know that an init-based Debian alternative will continue. Those who express concern about the fragmentation and lack of standardization in Linux might be less enthusiastic.
Issue 272/2023
Buy this issue as a PDF
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
News
-
KDE Plasma 6 Looks to Bring Basic HDR Support
The KWin piece of KDE Plasma now has HDR support and color management geared for the 6.0 release.
-
Bodhi Linux 7.0 Beta Ready for Testing
The latest iteration of the Bohdi Linux distribution is now available for those who want to experience what's in store and for testing purposes.
-
Changes Coming to Ubuntu PPA Usage
The way you manage Personal Package Archives will be changing with the release of Ubuntu 23.10.
-
AlmaLinux 9.2 Now Available for Download
AlmaLinux has been released and provides a free alternative to upstream Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
-
An Immutable Version of Fedora Is Under Consideration
For anyone who's a fan of using immutable versions of Linux, the Fedora team is currently considering adding a new spin called Fedora Onyx.
-
New Release of Br OS Includes ChatGPT Integration
Br OS 23.04 is now available and is geared specifically toward web content creation.
-
Command-Line Only Peropesis 2.1 Available Now
The latest iteration of Peropesis has been released with plenty of updates and introduces new software development tools.
-
TUXEDO Computers Announces InfinityBook Pro 14
With the new generation of their popular InfinityBook Pro 14, TUXEDO upgrades its ultra-mobile, powerful business laptop with some impressive specs.
-
Linux Kernel 6.3 Release Includes Interesting Features
Although it's not a Long Term Release candidate, Linux 6.3 includes features that will benefit end users.
-
Arch-Based blendOS Features Cool Trick
If you're looking for a Linux distribution that blends Linux, Android, and web apps together, blendOS might be what you're looking for.