[sf-lug] Linux distros -- follow-up just on LFS

[aaronco36]

Quoting Justin Noor <justinnoor.io at gmail.com> from [1]:

> Or maybe that person is responding to the plethora of distros that
> are discussed on that same mailing list, which, caused them to
> conclude that building a custom distro with Linux From Scratch is
> probably a better alternative to creating HannaMontana Linux.
>
>> and (the person who brought it up) has absolutely no idea what
>> it's good for.
>
>
> Maybe, maybe not.


FWIW, verbatim verbosity taken directly from the 'Audience'
section of the Linux From Scratch (LFS) book [2]:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ quoting [2]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are many reasons why you would want to read this book. One of the 
questions many people raise is, why go through all the hassle of manually 
building a Linux system from scratch when you can just download and 
install an existing one?

One important reason for this project's existence is to help you learn how 
a Linux system works from the inside out. Building an LFS system helps 
demonstrate what makes Linux tick, and how things work together and depend 
on each other. One of the best things that this learning experience can 
provide is the ability to customize a Linux system to suit your own unique 
needs.

Another key benefit of LFS is that it allows you to have more control over 
the system without relying on someone else's Linux implementation. With 
LFS, you are in the driver's seat and dictate every aspect of the system.

LFS allows you to create very compact Linux systems. When installing 
regular distributions, you are often forced to install a great many 
programs which are probably never used or understood. These programs waste 
resources. You may argue that with today's hard drive and CPUs, such 
resources are no longer a consideration. Sometimes, however, you are still 
constrained by size considerations if nothing else. Think about bootable 
CDs, USB sticks, and embedded systems. Those are areas where LFS can be 
beneficial.

Another advantage of a custom built Linux system is security. By compiling 
the entire system from source code, you are empowered to audit everything 
and apply all the security patches desired. It is no longer necessary to 
wait for somebody else to compile binary packages that fix a security 
hole. Unless you examine the patch and implement it yourself, you have no 
guarantee that the new binary package was built correctly and adequately 
fixes the problem.

The goal of Linux From Scratch is to build a complete and usable 
foundation-level system. If you do not wish to build your own Linux system 
from scratch, you may nevertheless benefit from the information in this 
book.

There are too many other good reasons to build your own LFS system to list 
them all here. In the end, education is by far the most powerful of 
reasons. As you continue in your LFS experience, you will discover the 
power that information and knowledge truly bring.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IMHO, this is perhaps most relevant for the admittedly few persons on this 
mailing-list who simply never heard about LFS or may have only heard vague 
mention/description of this renown DIY distro other than what Bobbie S 
wrote within [3].

-A


=====================================================
References
=====================================================
[1]http://linuxmafia.com/pipermail/sf-lug/2019q1/013660.html
[2]http://lfs.mirror.fileplanet.com/lfs/downloads/stable/LFS-BOOK-8.3-NOCHUNKS.html#pre-audience
[3]http://linuxmafia.com/pipermail/sf-lug/2019q1/013663.html
=====================================================

aaronco36 at sdf.org
SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.org