Re: The First Distro To Offer XLibre

On 01/07/25 9:05 pm, Nux Vomica wrote:

On Tue, 1 Jul 2025 20:23:37 +0530, Not Necessary wrote:
 

>
For init scripts with generic configurations, they require udev in
kernel space to manage devices.
>

 
No they do not.
 
They only do so now because of the despotic decisions by the mainstream
distros.  X11 now requires libinput for keyboard/mouse control which
in turn requires udev.
 
Formerly, udev was only just another option until the mainstream distros
enforced their delusions of "modernity."  
 

You do realize that hardware changes, because other people create new
things. For input devices, AFAIK, there are three consumer-grade
standards: PS/2, USB, and Bluetooth. PS/2 isn't hot-swappable; the
latter two are. Without udev, we have just lost the ability to change a
keyboard, mouse, drawing pad, or game controller on-the-fly if need be.

This is beneficial modernity, which makes lives easier for everyone,
including you.

>
Otherwise, all your devices are static,
>

 
As they damn well should be.  For a personal workstation static
devices are the most sensible choice.  But the mainstream distros
have managed to quash that choice.
 

We have, in some ways, advanced so much since the 1980s that it is
laughable to think that `hardware needs to be static'. No it does not!
We need to be able to hot-plug batteries on our laptops; add and remove
storage from our network drives when they fail without downtime; or
switch between multiple computers using the same input device
on-the-fly. We need more choices, and enforcing that devices be static
robs others of their choice to use devices as they see fit.

Again, udev is free software, and you have the freedom to make necessary
changes to it so that it only detects connected devices at boot time.

 

>
and you've lost the ability to use simple USB drives without
re-booting!
>

 
No you haven't.  If one understands how the kernel works it is
very straightforward to develop scripts that can handle "pluggable"
USB devices.
 
I understand the kernel.  You do not.
 

I understand enough of hardware to know that your `script' to handle
hot-pluggable devices needs to poll various peripheral controllers,
which would need to poll their respective ports for state changes
continuously, wasting precious CPU cycles. The only other option is to
have a kernel patch that `informs' state change to a daemon running in
the background, which creates the necessary file in `/dev`: Aaand you've
re-written udev, although this time by yourself.

>
Systemd is the successor to udev.
>

 
No it isn't.  Systemd is an advancement in complexity only for the
sake of an advancement.  Systemd does nothing that many other things
cannot do.  Systemd has only seduced the mainstream distros which,
regrettably, control most of GNU/Linux development.
 

Systemd is literally the successor to udev. Find out for yourself where
is the udev git repo! Systemd just `refactors' complexity away from the
system administrator on to itself; which eases their job. Given that
Linux is the most popular server OS, it is no wonder that distribution
developers and maintainers would listen to their core user base: system
administrators; not `ricers' and `tinkerers'.