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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Systemd: Hidden Gems for a Better Linux (tadeubento.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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After a few conversations with people on Lemmy and other places it became clear to me that most aren't aware of what it can do and how much more robust it is compared to the usual "jankiness" we're used to.

In this article I highlight less known features and give out a few practice examples on how to leverage Systemd to remove tons of redundant packages and processes.

And yes, Systemd does containers. :)

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thanks for summarizing my feelings on systemd in a less inflammatory way than if I had written it myself.

I've found that most distributions have implemented it properly and for the most part it works quite well and stays out of my way, it's only when for some reason you have to dive into the minutiae of a unit file and getting into all the dependencies and stuff that it gets annoying quickly.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

The dependency system takes a bit to understand but compared to like upstart it was a massive improvement.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

Everybody gangsta until A start job is running for ... (10s / 1min 30s)

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Or, even worse, A start job is running for ... (10s / no limit)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

lol, that brought back memories

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't see how exactly that is systemd's fault.

You are blaming it for having proper dependency handling?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm blaming it for making it a pain in the ass to debug dependency problems and for having the confusing, non-intuitive, overly verbose and redundant syntax that probably caused the problem in the first place.

Like, who the hell can memorize all the subtle differences in behavior between After=, Requires=, Wants=, Requisite=, BindsTo=, PartOf=, UpHolds= and then all their "reverse" equivalents?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

You're right that the difference isn't overly obvious. However, for most services, Wants= is enough. I think some of these (like Requisite=) came from actual users' demands where they had to solve corner cases in their setup that systemd did not allow with the existing features. I think especially UpheldBy= is a smart addition; it adds restarting to a service only if that services is used as a dependency for the one it upholds.