[NTLUG:Discuss] Debian ditching sysvinit

[Christopher Cox]

On 10/28/2013 09:44 PM, Leroy Tennison wrote:
....
> Examples:
> 
> 1. GRUB2, "DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE" (quote from grub.cfg)

I too find that grub2 is a bit too cryptic.  It's reminds me of early KDE4.

> 2. SAX(2) - don't even try to configure a monitor or other things
>    without it.

Actually, the power that be (whoever they are) determined that sax2 isn't
needed... thus the X Server always gets things right.  Problem is, is that it
gets it wrong ... a lot!!  So Sax3 was created.  At least in attempt to allow
for configuring video again.

Is it even possible to successfully do a forced X11 config now?  I find the
server takes way too many liberties.

> 3. KDE4- need to know what file controls something?  God help you -
>    you're going to need it!  Documentation seems to be dismal.

KDE4 still needs some work agreed.  But it's better than the alternative "heavy"
desktop.  I've gotten used to it.  But very true, gone are the days of
configuring things through text files.  Even though it's actually somewhat
possible with KDE4, it's just gotten way to complicated.  And yes... for that,
it's not documented (mainly because those formats are subject to change).

> 4. Network Manager - enough said

Network Manager is an oxymoron... or maybe just a "moron".  It truly doesn't
understand "Network".  There's at least 3,234,572 things that don't work right
using Network Manager.


> 5. I haven't kept up with systemd but what I seem to recall about
>    upstart is that things are moving out of scripts into some less
>    accessible place

Systemd IMHO is an attempt to create shell without a shell so that init
"scripts" can be written.  Sorry, just had to be said.  In other words, the
belief is that all things init are totally parameterizable with just a few short
verbs and attributes.  Obviously, the growth of the list continues and it's
almost laughable.  With that said, systemd, like upstart, allows for calling old
style shell scripts to get thing started.  But it also creates a lot of weird
cases where that's not going to work too well.  Systemd assumes a lot more
responsibility over things that a daemon produce would have had to do on their
own.  So basically it wants you to do things the systemd way... if you don't,
there could be trouble.