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January 8, 2008 at 09:32:34
The Linux Project: Gentoo revisited by Pappy Page 1 of 4 page(s) |
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The Linux Project: Gentoo revisited. Once upon a time, I wrote a series of articles about the various Linux distributions that exist on the Internet. At that time, I had tried, and condemned a distribution known as Gentoo. I gave it very low marks for just about everything I used as a means of rating Linus distros. And while Gentoo remains perhaps the most difficult operating system I have ever installed on a computer, once it gets installed, it works quite nicely.
A correction, apology, and trip into Geek Valhalla
By Pappy McFae
Gentoo Linux Artwork
As I said in the previous article, there are various states in which computer software can exist: source code, and executable files. Source code is the written in "English" stuff; the code used to create functional executable files. With most operating systems, what you get on the install disk is finished, pre-compiled executable files. They are copied to your hard disk, and are functional from that point forward.
Before source code can be used to make the computer do what you want, it has to be compiled. Compiling is a translation process. The final result of compilation is generally an executable file. It is the executable file that does what the program is designed to do.
While there is an executable component to the Gentoo install disk, that is only there to put the source code onto your system, and compile it thereafter. Compilation is a time consuming process. It logically follows that installing Gentoo takes a long time, in some cases, a very long time. This is as true at this point in reality as it was when I first condemned Gentoo.
However, after working with various Linux distros, I have come to a point where I realize that Linux is as much about the community behind it as it is about the actual distro itself. Most Windows users could care less about something as intangible as a community. Since just about everyone and their brother has setup Windows on their system, there is no need for community. One need only go to microsoft.com and read the voluminous information available to fix whatever problem might be happening. Who needs a community when you have access to everything you want to know about Windows from Microsoft's website? No one, course.
Linux, on the other hand, lends itself to communities that build up around the distro in question. Firstly, for the most part, Linux is the operating system for people who know a bit more about their computers than the average Windows user. It has been this way since Linus Torvalds came up with the Linux kernel. As it was when the Altair computer first came out, communities of like-minded geeks get together to figure out how to make their computers work better. Linux is the glue that holds the communities together.
Like most communities, some people are cool, some are assholes. It is the community factor, and the asshole-iness of certain people in the community for Slackware that drove me to investigate the Gentoo community.
As everyone knows who reads my stuff, I am nothing if not a rebel. I don't do things by the book and I never have. I find life infinitely more interesting when I have a challenge. And believe me, setting up Gentoo is a challenge. There are many reasons for this.
First and foremost, Gentoo is all about the truly geeky among us. Whereas certain distros, such as Ubuntu and its relatives are as easy if not easier than Windows to install, and install rather quickly, Gentoo is neither easy, or quick as far as installation is concerned.
It is this fact that has brought me to the brink of setting Gentoo up ten times...on various machines using various methods. And not until install number eleven did I get it to take.
I can't blame Gentoo for my own impatience. It is what it is and I am who I am. There is definitely a difference between unworkable and time consuming.
Gentoo is what it is, and it makes no bones about what it is. It's a high level, as Unix as you'll get outside something like SCO or Sun-OS, Linux distribution with an incredibly steep learning curve. It is not for everyone...especially the impatient, and the person who just pulled his first ever computer out of the box.
The Gentoo community is the place to find people who know computers...inside, outside, upside-down, however you want to look at it. It is clear to me that there are some seriously know their computers like the back of their hands folks that hang out there. A quick looksee at the forums will boggle the mind.
Secondly, while Gentoo does have a LiveCD installer, said CD is very buggy. The DVD version is even buggier, or so rumor has it. I used it to do a manual install, and it worked flawlessly.
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UPDATE:
The inevitable has finally occurred. I signed off on the Slackware forum at linuxquestions.com and I unsubscribed from all the threads which I had been following. More importantly, I converted my last computer, my new Compaq laptop. Now all of my machines have Gentoo installed. What I really love about Gentoo is how configurable it is, especially the networking. As I mentioned in the article, Gentoo has the simplest network setup I have ever tried. Editing one small file can give you an infinite number of networking possibilities. For instance, on Gen-tosh, the networking automatically configures itself at boot time depending on whether the wired or wireless adapter is installed into the PCMCIA slot. If there is no adapter installed, then it automatically configures for no network. It's an awesomely sweet setup! On this machine, the network automatically sets up for wired or wireless networking depending on whether or not the net cable is plugged into the on board network card. If it is, like now, then the network sets up to run with the wired adapter, ignoring the status of the wireless adapter completely. If the net cable is unplugged, then wireless sets up automatically. NICE NICE NICE! Now, getting the networking to set itself up this way doesn't happen by magic. Through reading the forums, and doing some reading on other general Linux topics (like script writing), and about five hours of experimentation, I got it to work. Considering what's happening when the computer makes the networking adapter decision, I really didn't work all that hard to make the "miracle" happen. When I tried to get that to happen with Windows, it was next to impossible. I know, because once I figured out that Gentoo could do this, then I switched over to the Windows side, and tried to get the same thing to happen. Windows fought me every step of the way, even though it was all point and click. I did get it to go, supposedly, but I have yet to really give it a serious acid test. Doing the same thing with this machine would be impossible under Windows. As far as I know, there isn't an automated Windows networking solution. Please, anyone who knows differently, please let me know. Windows would force both net adapters to be active simultaneously...and that would be all kinds of hell. I don't even have the balls to try. Of course, I'd have to pay for the software to make it happen. Yeah...whatever! With Slackware, I might have been able to accomplish the deed, but it would have been a lot more difficult. It would have required editing a lot more files. And it would have required documentation...which Slackware lacks, in abundance. I am sure I could have figured it out, but it would have taken a lot longer to get the job done. And it would have required me to fly a little more blindly, owing to the lack of documentation. But with Gentoo, not only is the networking setup simple, it's also well documented. There are also programs available that will allow you to dynamically set your networking options on the fly with Gentoo. Fortunately, there are also folks who have documented doing what I did, but in a different fashion. Using their ideas as a starting point, I was able to figure out how best to detect the network card, and how best to switch configurations. The long and the short of it is I have machines that now do things I never thought I'd get them to do. It's all because of Gentoo. For all its faults, and know that there are some, such as a lower aggregate stability as compared to Slackware, Gentoo shines like the lonely beam from a lighthouse scanning the sea on a foggy, moonless night. It has a je ne sais quoi that no other distro I have tried has. It is all that, a bag of chips, the factory that made the chips, and the farm that grew the potatoes. I can't begin to tell y'all just how happy switching to Gentoo has made me and my systems. I feel like I have truly accomplished something. I have computers that do what I want them to do...at long last. I have learned a lot more in the past few weeks than I did in all the time I worked with Slackware. This can't be helped. When someone decides to take on Gentoo, it's more than just putting an operating system on your computer. It's making a commitment to know your computer, and Linux, as never before. My brain has come close to exploding a few times, and I must admit that there are times I have to stop and take a break from it. Working with Gentoo can get very, very I-N-T-E-N-S-E! But, I have something to show for the work in two ways: tangibly and intangibly. Tangibly speaking, I have three computers that work the way I have wanted my computers to work together for some time. Intangibly speaking, not only do I have the knowledge garnered, I also have the feeling of pride and accomplishment. I have the sense that the risk of trying Gentoo was so worth it when looking at the rewards. So, I really haven't lost a thing by getting rid of Slackware, but dealing with a couple total assholes, and the frustration of poor documentation. Had I known what was going to transpire, I'd have knuckled down and allowed Gentoo to finish in the first place. I'd be a lot farther ahead, and I wouldn't have had to deal with some of the assholes at the Slackware forum. So, once again, thank you Gentoo, and I am sorry for thinking you were anything less than the most awesome operating system I have ever installed on my machine. I was so wrong. And while Gentoo is still really not for the n00b, my hat is off to anyone who can bite into Gentoo, and hang on for the ride of their lives. Blessed be! by Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 860 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Jan 16, 2008 at 4:57:04 AM  (0+)
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