Shiny New Fork
Welcome
The world is left to wonder if the recent news of a Debian fork is an important event or a minor historical footnote. Either way, it seems like a good story, reminiscent of the Linux stories of the past, when the community really looked and behaved like a collection of individuals rather than a corporate fan club.
Shiny New Fork
Dear Linux Pro Reader,
The world is left to wonder if the recent news of a Debian fork is an important event or a minor historical footnote. Either way, it seems like a good story, reminiscent of the Linux stories of the past, when the community really looked and behaved like a collection of individuals rather than a corporate fan club.
If you haven't been listening, the rift is over whether Debian [1] should mandate init neutrality, or whether the Debian distro should be allowed to follow the drift toward the systemd service daemon, which is rapidly replacing the classic System V init elsewhere in the Linux space.
The reason systemd was born in the first place was because many developers believed the ancient init is not fast enough or versatile enough for today's systems. But systemd also has its critics. Many believe systemd is too complex – and too far out of step with the Unix philosophy of "do one thing and do it well." Others cite technical reasons why they don't think systemd will work well in container-based virtualization environments. Still others simply don't like change or the oppressive tug of popular opinion. The underlying arguments on both sides are too extensive to recount in a one-page column, but the press announcement [2] and the website for the new Debian fork [3], known as Devuan (pronounced DevOne), provide some interesting reading.
The group spearheading the fork calls itself the Veteran Unix Admin collective, hinting that this controversy might ultimately result from a generational divide, with the next generation calling for new stuff and the veterans beating the drum for old stuff. The Debian community took on the topic with its usual candor and clamor. Eventually they voted on it, using the arcane Condorcet voting technique [4] to evaluate five different options simultaneously, and the winning option was not to mandate support for other inits, thus ensuring the continued drift toward systemd and precipitating the fork.
When I first started working for this magazine, Debian was really big in the Linux News. We even had a column in the community section with regular updates on Debian elections and decisions. Since emergence of polished Debian derivatives like Ubuntu, Debian has assumed a lower profile, but it is still hugely important behind the scenes. At last count, 135 Linux distributions called themselves Debian derivatives.
We tend to use the term "community distro" to describe any Free Linux that relies on contributed developer time. Ubuntu, Fedora, and openSUSE are all known today as "community" distros, even though each has a corporate sponsor that lingers close to the action and calls the shots for most important decisions. A messy or divisive public feud like Debian's systemd crisis would never happen with Ubuntu, because Canonical simply wouldn't allow it.
Even the Linux kernel community – the ultimate Linux hackers, would not go through anything quite like what happened with Debian because Linus Torvalds is in the position to set the direction with more authority than anyone can actually exercise over the Debian project.
If a corporate-backed Linux announced a major change, they would already have a plan for how to make the change happen, including sources for funding. When Debian gets forked, what happens? That's what makes the real, authentic Free Software movement embodied by the Debian project so interesting. It all depends on what people do. You would have to think the Veteran Unix Admins will have a hard road peeling off volunteers from Debian, which many contributors consider a labor of love. But if enough disgruntled coders join in, Devuan could be around for years as another stable Linux that keeps init in the game as an alternative to systemd. Could a ragtag group of renegade developers really launch a project that takes on the corporate world and changes the face of the IT industry? It has certainly happened before … .
Infos
- Debian: http://debian.org
- Debian fork announcement: https://lists.dyne.org/lurker/message/20141127.212941.f55acc3a.en.html
- Devuan project: https://devuan.org/
- Condorcet voting method: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condorcet_method
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Canonical Releases Ubuntu 24.04
After a brief pause because of the XZ vulnerability, Ubuntu 24.04 is now available for install.
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.