Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: Can You Say Something Nice About Systemd?
ewhac writes: "I'm probably going to deeply deeply regret this, but every time a story appears here mentioning systemd, a 700-comment thread of back-and-forth bickering breaks out which is about as informative as an old Bud Light commercial, and I don't really learn anything new about the subject. My gut reaction to systemd is (currently) a negative one, and it's very easy to find screeds decrying systemd on the net. However, said screeds haven't been enough to prevent its adoption by several distros, which leads me to suspect that maybe there's something worthwhile there that I haven't discovered yet. So I thought it might be instructive to turn the question around and ask the membership about what makes systemd good. However, before you stab at the "Post" button, there are some rules...
Bias Disclosure: I currently dislike systemd because — without diving very deeply into the documentation, mind — it looks and feels like a poorly-described, gigantic mess I know nothing about that seeks to replace other poorly-described, smaller messes which I know a little bit about. So you will be arguing in that environment."
Nice Things About systemd Rules:
Bias Disclosure: I currently dislike systemd because — without diving very deeply into the documentation, mind — it looks and feels like a poorly-described, gigantic mess I know nothing about that seeks to replace other poorly-described, smaller messes which I know a little bit about. So you will be arguing in that environment."
Nice Things About systemd Rules:
- Post each new Nice Thing as a new post, not as a reply to another post. This will let visitors skim the base level of comments for things that interest them, rather than have to dive through a fractally expanding tree of comments looking for things to support/oppose. It will also make it easier to follow the next rule:
- Avoid duplication; read the entire base-level of comments before adding a new Nice Thing. Someone may already have mentioned your Nice Thing. Add your support/opposition to that Nice Thing there, rather than as a new post.
- Only one concrete Nice Thing about systemd per base-level post. Keep the post focused on a single Nice Thing systemd does. If you know of multiple distinct things, write multiple distinct posts.
- Describe the Nice Thing in some detail. Don't assume, for example, that merely saying "Supports Linux cgroups" will be immediately persuasive.
- Describe how the Nice Thing is better than existing, less controversial solutions. systemd is allegedly better at some things than sysvinit or upstart or inetd. Why? Why is the Nice Thing possible in systemd, and impossible (or extremely difficult) with anything else? (In some cases, the Nice Thing will be a completely new thing that's never existed before; describe why it's good thing.)
We will assume out of the gate that systemd boots your system faster than ${SOMETHING_ELSE}, so no points for bringing that up. Bonus points are awarded for:
- Personal Experience. "I actually did this," counts for way more than, "The docs claim you can do this."
- Working Examples. Corollary to the above — if you did a Nice Thing with systemd, consider also posting the code/script/service file you wrote to accomplish it.
- Links to Supporting Documentation. If you leveraged a Nice Thing, furnish a link to the docs you used that describe the Nice Thing and its usage.
No, we can't.
aaaaaaa
In looks like astroturf promotion, by way of damage control, of systemd in popular FOSS hangouts, like the Reddit "why do you love systemd?" FOSS should rise or fall on its own merits, but the leading lovers or RHT marketing seem to provide PR compensation timed in this instance with the Debian GR vote. It's more like politics than technical. To me it's the new incarnation of Linux vs Windows.
*crickets*
If you can't say something nice...
A house divided against itself cannot stand.
about as informative as an old Bud Light commercial
If the technical discussion inevitably inherent in most historic articles regarding the controversy and operational functionality of systemd is indistinguishable from spuds McKenzie or three gurgling anthropomorphic frogs, you may not be a good fit here.
Why not try Wired? they have a bunch of real neat articles on halloween costumes and even a picture hunt challenge! If you find yourself worn out after a few paragraphs its okay. Cookie clicker should help to clear the frustration.
Good people go to bed earlier.
I love systemd because it doesn't continuously spout inane drivel to my favorite news aggregator. When systemd has something to say, it does so in its own log separate file which I can read at my leisure (or ignore completely if I so choose). As far as I'm concerned, systemd is the model that should be followed by everyone.