Will Devuan ever stop being based on Debian?

blackhole · 2020-11-01 09:21:41

zapper wrote:

Whenever HyperbolaBSD is finished...

I wouldn't hold your breath nor stake your hopes on a project which makes such "hyperbolic" statements as:
"Due to the Linux kernel rapidly proceeding down an unstable path..." and talks a lit about GPL3 while planning to base its project on code which is anything but.

zapper wrote:

I have interest in this because of wine-staging doesn't work in it

So you have an interest in an, at this stage, theoretical project from developers that want use the OpenBSD kernel, GNU userland, remove all firmware and "liberate" the kernel, just so that you can run wine and MS Windows programmes? I see.

zapper wrote:

Edit here, OpenBSD disabled the mutlilib in wine for security reasons,

The OpenBSD project don't do any work on wine. The wine port has been incomplete / broken / abandoned for years.

Last edited by blackhole (2020-11-01 09:23:45)

zapper · 2020-11-01 20:58:29

blackhole wrote:

zapper wrote:
Whenever HyperbolaBSD is finished...
I wouldn't hold your breath nor stake your hopes on a project which makes such "hyperbolic" statements as:
"Due to the Linux kernel rapidly proceeding down an unstable path..." and talks a lit about GPL3 while planning to base its project on code which is anything but.
zapper wrote:
I have interest in this because of wine-staging doesn't work in it
So you have an interest in an, at this stage, theoretical project from developers that want use the OpenBSD kernel, GNU userland, remove all firmware and "liberate" the kernel, just so that you can run wine and MS Windows programmes? I see.
zapper wrote:
Edit here, OpenBSD disabled the mutlilib in wine for security reasons,
The OpenBSD project don't do any work on wine. The wine port has been incomplete / broken / abandoned for years.

Yes I have interest, I want my operating system to be as secure as possible while still being able to do what I want on it. Only one of my laptops will ever have wine on it though.

PS, I don't need to hold my breath, And by the way, don't insult me. It will turn into a flame war...

I am tired of being pissed, let's just say...

blackhole · 2026-11-02 15:47:29

6 years on, and nearly 7 years after the announcement, where is this OS? I still see nothing much except a roadmap and some kind of release cycle plan and talks of replacing code due to licensing... not much else.

In the meantime, another similar project has been announced:

https://www.theregister.com/os-platform … os/5306589

This time based on NetBSD, with the goal being to avoid LLM generated code.

As a BSD user, I have to admit that I don't see the point in these "vanity" projects. NetBSD in particular could do with more contributors, not pointless derivatives.

Last edited by blackhole (2026-11-02 16:12:33)

zapper · 2026-11-07 04:13:08

@blackhole Yes... I am aware. I think he has a lack of funding and thats why HyperbolaBSD development is so slow.

At this rate it won't be ready till 2032

blackhole · 2026-11-09 09:26:36

I doubt it aill ever materialise and if it does, it will be a reinvention born out of ideology and not much else.

Alpine related and on the subject of reinvention:

https://sshhole.com/

No one saw that coming...

This is one of the great perils of rewriting everything: You open up holes that no one could have foreseen.

26 year old article on why rewriting is a bad idea:

https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/04/ … do-part-i/

More recent:

https://leaddev.com/software-quality/fi … write-code

mmaglis · Today 16:39:10

At some point we may have to clone the debian repos onto our infrastructure to preserve them from further systemd intrusion. Then we would be independent from debian. But pulling that off would require an influx of volunteers with ninja skills to handle the workload of keeping packages from upstream current.

The goal of Debian was to be the "universal" OS, free software distribution, in the sense it can run in as many architectures and provide the building blocks for as many different use cases. A claim that, in many cases and times, was even hard for the power of Debian developers and contributors to achieve.

I understand that for as long as possible the Devuan project benefits from using the Debian repositories and removing systemd dependencies.
This way it uses the huge number of packages available for Debian and offers a systemd free Debian derivative.
In the hope that some day soon, the Debian project reverses the mistakes of the past and aim for the original "universal" target. In which case, Devuan is re-integrated into Debian as an installation variant. Similar to choosing your default desktop environment in tasksel.

If this does not materialize soon, or incompatibility with Debian increases beyond Devuan's capacity to handle, the following outcomes are realistically expected for Devuan IMHO:

Decline and get abandoned
Manage to offer an independent systemd free distribution, with a limited, selected list of core software packages, which Devuan can maintain

To the last outcome, I wonder if either the use of AI or alternative software distribution models can help.
E.g. AI to increase the capacity of a small number of Devuan package maintainers.
GNU Guix to replace or coexist with apt, so that it offers users distro independent access to software

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#26 2020-11-01 09:21:41

Re: Will Devuan ever stop being based on Debian?

#27 2020-11-01 20:58:29

Re: Will Devuan ever stop being based on Debian?

#28 2026-11-02 15:47:29

Re: Will Devuan ever stop being based on Debian?

#29 2026-11-07 04:13:08

Re: Will Devuan ever stop being based on Debian?

#30 2026-11-09 09:26:36

Re: Will Devuan ever stop being based on Debian?

#31 Today 16:39:10

Re: Will Devuan ever stop being based on Debian?

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