mbainter

"That paragraph clearly is recommending Solaris, specifically."

He says, as he quotes a paragraph that specifically calls out SmartOS and OmniOS -- both of which are under the IllumOS branch of OpenSolaris.

"So, CoreOS is the Linux option he recommends? The same CoreOS that uses SystemD?"

The problem he's raising isn't that linux is going to be different, and if you think it is you need to re-read. Try doing it with your --with-reading-comprehension switch. It being different is just a statement of fact, the problem statement was separate.

CoreOS is not a distribution in the classic sense. It is a platform for deploying containers, and in the use-case they've setup the author clearly believes it will allow you to still be successful in spite of systemd.

For those with reading comprehension skills this isn't funny but rather a natural conclusion. The problem for you is that you're making assumptions about the author that you haven't verified.

The problem here isn't change, or re-thinking linux. The problem is re-inventing the wheel, and doing it poorly.

CoreOS uses systemd, but it's not a distribution in the classic sense -- rather it's a platform for containers. The narrow use-case for systemd here removes some (most? all?) of the concerns.

Forking a distribution will help by giving an alternative, but it's not as easy as just saying it. Maintaining a distribution is a massive effort that takes a lot of work. Building a team of people with enough time to make that happen isn't something you do overnight. The fact that one hasn't magically appeared since this started has more to do with that than anything else. (Followed closely by people generally waiting to see how this shakes out before they pull the trigger.)

Second - while it will provide an alternative that helps frame the debate, this is not a minor undertaking. With every other distribution caving maintaining a distribution that does not use Systemd will require a lot of work to keep all of the software out there working properly with whatever alternative init system it chooses to use.

This alternative distro is also going to have to deal with how to solve the init problem. We had some good options in play but I don't believe we'd found the best answer to the problem yet when Lennart came bowling through like a bull in a china shop. So any distribution effort is going to have to take on the role of choosing the best of breed alternative and make the effort to ensure it continues to develop and improve.

This isn't something you take on lightly.