SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Controversy is nothing new when it comes to systemd. Many people find this new Linux init system to be inherently flawed in most ways, yet it is still gaining traction with major distros like Arch Linux, openSUSE, Fedora, and soon both Ubuntu and Debian GNU/Linux. The adoption of systemd for Debian 8 "Jessie" has been particularly fraught with strife and animosity.
Some have described the systemd adoption process as having been a "coup", while others are vowing to stick with Debian 7 as long as possible before moving to another distro. Others are so upset by what they see as a complete betrayal of the Debian and open source communities that there is serious discussion about forking Debian. Regardless of one's stance toward systemd, it cannot be argued that it has become one of the most divisive and disruptive changes in the long history of the Debian project, threatening to destroy both the project and the community that has built up around it.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by VLM on Sunday September 28 2014, @11:39AM
One thing that concerns me about monoliths is giant codebase = giant security patches and giant updates in general. You can't upgrade init without rebooting for all practical purposes and even if there is a hack if something goes wrong...
So in a non-monolith I can upgrade sysklogd or more likely rsyslog without rebooting anything or even the slightest danger of reboot. With a monolith, nope. Like using Windows again. Reboot reboot reboot reboot. No thanks.
I mean, my god, they're trying to integrate dhcp and ntp into it. Thats insane. All tightly coupled into ring 0. Dumb architectural idea.
The other thing that concerns me is EEE embrace extend extinguish. Someone is being paid to shove a unreplaceable no-upgrade path unavoidable universal system down our throats because they have a submarine patent on "integrating ntp into an init system" or some such foolishness and after its utterly unavoidable we'll be issued lawsuits and licensing offers and gigatons of FUD from competitors. Pretty much the SCO/Novell thing all over except it won't be a lie, it'll really be true.
(Score: 1) by canopic jug on Sunday September 28 2014, @02:36PM
Or DRM, to follow on with more speculation. There is no technical advantage to the architecture of systemd that I can see, only disadvantages -- unless. Unless the goal is to be a blob between the kernel and userspace and restrict and monitor all system components and data.
The part that I find particularly strange and unfortunate is the fact that it is being slammed through important distros like Debian. Getting it into Debian means it spreads to downstream distros like Ubuntu and Knoppix, to name just two. But it also means further disregard for healthy software engineering practices. I could have seen either phasing it in over several releases and/or offering it as an option along side Upstart and Openrc. However, just slamming it through reeks. It raises big red flags about the process and the people pushing systemd.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.