Gentoo Linux 2004.2: What You See Is What You Get

editingwhiz writes "Jem Matzan has a cogent analysis of the new Gentoo Linux 2004.2 on Linux.com: "Gentoo Linux is the BSD of GNU/Linux distributions; it's elegant and customizable and you know exactly what you're getting when you install it. No mystery programs, no packages that you have to deinstall because you'll never use, no clutter, and everything is customized to your needs. If you do it right, Gentoo is also faster than your average GNU/Linux distro because everything can be compiled with higher compiler optimizations." (Linux.com is part of the OSTG network.)" Jem also has some criticism of the current version of Gentoo's AMD64 version.

Comments

Re:WYSIWYG

[sbennett]

What you see and what you get is a bash prompt on the cd boot. It is worse than slackware on the install

I'd have said "better than slackware on the install". I realise I'm in the minority here, but I like a simple, text-based install process. After Gentoo's, my favourite installers (of those I've used) are Debian's old-style one and [Free|Open]BSD. They do what they need to, and don't get in the way.

Oh, and the other major plus with Gentoo's install: you don't need an install CD to do it; any Linux system will do. I haven't yet found another distro or OS that lets you do that.

Re:WYSIWYG

[3) profit!!!]

But you learn SO MUCH about how your system works. Afterwards you're able to use your computer so much better, since you know how it got that way in the first place. The documentation guides you very well through the process, too. If you aren't capable of installing from the command line, you won't be able to fix any problems from the command line either.

Re:what you get: no vi, ...

[maskedbishounen]

What I ended up with a system that had no vi (or similar), no inetd, no finger, no telnet - none of the many tools that make Unix systems just the fine place one wants t live at.

That's actually the entire point. No clutter, unless it's your clutter.

And worst of all it came with an editor that broke lines of /etc/fstab without mentioning - lots of fun for novice users trying to find out why their fstab is busted.

Nano? Did you read the documentation (or man page, for that matter)? It specifically mentions you need to use the -w switch, or it will break (wrap) lines.

It's init.d. ;) And there's some fine documentation that goes along about how to use it.

And here I thought the BSD crowd was the "RTFM" one. :O Then again, anyone still using telnet.... x.X

Re:what you get: no vi, ...

[Stevyn]

You're completely missing the point. If you don't need the package to boot, then it's not on there. If you want it, then compile it and put it on there. I don't want packages that someone thinks I should have but not needed. If I want them, I'll emerge them.

Re:I love Gentoo, but does it have a future?

[Stevyn]

Well it's not going to take over the world. But for a small amount of people (myself included) it be prefered. I don't think their intentions were ever to make it the number one linux distro. But I think it will stay alive for a while as distros keep trying to struggle with required packages and bloat.

Re:WYSIWYG

[GimmeFuel]

I've heard this argument before, but it's never quite worked for me. I think there's two ways it can be interpreted and both have flaws. Another (supportive of Gentoo) poster has already said that Gentoo simply requires that you can follow EXACT instructions. That makes me nervous, as it sounds like it's not really learning, but rather just memorizing a bunch of commands. If that's the case, I don't think Gentoo really leaves you all that better trained than the ape at phone-tech support who flips through a manual and tells you to do whatever the book said without and actual cognitive thought.

Installing Gentoo isn't a magic rite of passage that turns anyone into an experienced Linux guru. All Gentoo does is force you to use command-line tools like mount and mk*fs. Compare this to other distros where the option is there to use the command-line tools, but it's easier to use the shiny GUI app. It's like the difference between a High School Spanish class and taking a foreign exchange trip to Spain for a few months; you will learn a lot more (assuming you want to learn in the first place) if you have to immerse yourself in a unfamiliar environment where you have to learn if you want to get anything done.

Of course, this path isn't suitable for everybody, which is why things like High School Spanish and RedHat exist. To each his own.

Conversely, though, it might be that Gentoo actually has good documentation that tells you WHY things work as opposed to just a list of key commands. If that's the case, however, why do I actually need the distro? Can't I just read the Gentoo documentation, learn about Linux's innerworkings, and then just apply that to whatever distro I see fit. After all, if I can edit an XF86Config file by hand under Gentoo, I can edit it by hand under RedHat. The GUI tools may change between distros, but the important stuff is always the same, so the Gentoo docs should be universal, making Gentoo a doc project that just has some sample software attached to it.

If Gentoo was only about teaching people how to use the console, then it probably would just be a pile of docs. However, Gentoo is about much more, which is why it is a full-fledged distro.