I’m mostly just putting out feelers for what’s available at the moment. I’m looking for something that meets the following criteria:
Arch-based
Beginner/intermediate friendly (I.e. won’t require constant work to fix bugs)
Doesn’t incorporate Rust beyond what’s already in the kernal.
I really like CachyOS. It’s super fast even on limited hardware thanks to the BORE scheduler, has been fairly reliable (especially for a rolling release), is relatively easy to use, and the theming looks great out of the box imo. Unfortunately, it comes mingled with a fair bit of Rust. Garuda looks very similar, but there’s some weird stuff going on there like not providing instructions or a .sig file for verifying authenticity before installation.
I use Artix. It is stable and friendly. It has good documentation.
You get a choice of init systems with Artix….. I use dinit.
I think the rust question comes down to which apps you choose.
With all Arch based distros, beware of AUR poisening…… If you basically want rolling release, there are better choices than the Arch family….Solus, Void, Gentoo, Tumbleweed
I’m curious what makes you recommend Artix over other Arch-based distros. I’ve heard several people having difficulties with it, and one going so far as to say it’s more problematic than vanilla Arch. I’m surprised to see that you’ve found it stable and friendly. Maybe I should still give it a try.
As far as Rust, I can avoid using applications that are based on it. I have reasons for not wanting it on my system to begin with (being vague to not derail the thread); additionally, I do want to financially support the distros I use, and I don’t particularly want to fund the oxidizing of Linux in the process.
I think you overestimate my technical abilities, good sir
I first looked at Artix while I was investigating alternatives to the systemd init system . I found that Artix had by far the best arrangement for dealing with a more than one init system . It offers a choice of OpenRC, runit, S6, and dinit. It deals properly with what happens when you want to install a package that starts a daemon. Other distros that offer a choice of init system fail miserably when it comes to package support.
Then, I had Artix installed, so I decided to use it for a project that involved learning Julia language. I had lots of issues with Julua, but Artix did not get in the way .
I have done updates, installed packages, installed R from source code, and no problems. That includes occasional use of yay and the AUR.
So I can only say, it worked for me. I cant compare with other Arch based distros because I have never used them. I do read bad reports on various Arch distros.
I should say that my work pattern is fairly basic… a simple DE like Xfce is enough for me, and I dont use a lot of packages, and I dont use snaps or flatpaks.
Try it in a VM first. The installer is easy and copes with VM’s. I think its Wiki is maybe not as detailed as Arch, but it is better written.
I think you will find it difficult to avoid rust in the kernel. Kernels are beyond the control of most distros , and there are limited alternative choices ( like liquorix). I dont know of any linux kernel that excludes rust. ? Do you?
The BSD kernel currently does not use rust.
Liquorix kernel currently does not use rust. Some Linux distros offer liquorix kernel as a choice.
My objection to rust would be that it bypasses the package system like python and julia do, and therefore opens a security hole.
Systemd does not contain any rust code at the moment, but there is a clear intention to go in that direction. I think other popular init systems ( OpenRC, runit, S6, dinit) are rust-free.
I agree that Rust in the kernel is hard to get around. I have looked at BSD, but since its distros look even more difficult to use (to me), I’ll likely give Artix a try. Thanks for sharing your experience, sir.
My name is Neville.
Glad to hear you will test Artix. Looking forward to your feedback.
I would choose either OpenRC or dinit version of Artix. They are simple to learn.
Will let you know how it goes.