Envisioning a Future for Linux Without Distributions

A New Project in the Linux Landscape

Over the decades, the number of Linux distributions has skyrocketed, growing from a handful in the 1990s to hundreds today, not counting minor variations. Recently, a counter-movement seems to be taking shape, with the Distroless project within Project Bluefin being the latest addition. Additionally, efforts from KDE, featuring the KDE-based Linux distribution, are worth mentioning as they shift their focus towards BuildStream from Arch, which could signal a distroless movement.

The notion of 'Linux' becoming a more uniform operating system draws mixed opinions; while some advocate for it, others see it as contrary to the essence of 'Linux.' It is clear there is no consensus on this topic. A distroless approach relies on a common core, utilizing the Freedesktop SDK, upon which layers of customization, such as Bluefin, KDE, or Gnome environments, are stacked. This core can be viewed as a common runtime that employs Freedesktop standards for interoperability.

It is intriguing to observe how this concept evolves, as strong arguments exist in favor of reduced fragmentation and minimized duplicate efforts. In many ways, this would bring Linux closer to FreeBSD, which avoids chaos through a singular codebase.

The discussion around package managers and other distribution-specific features could also revive similar challenges that led to the disintegration of the LSB years ago. Will we standardize on RPM package files at the expense of DEB, or will we opt for something entirely different?

However, it's time to question whether operating systems based on the C language and assumptions from the 1960s are a viable solution for the 21st century. Perhaps we should leave behind GNU, POSIX, and other relics of a bygone era.