MX Linux Forum

Please respond to this poll.

If you use systemd please let us know why, if there's a specific app that you need that runs only on systemd. Same question if you switch between init systems.

By way of a comment... one of the best things about MX/antiX is having the option to bypass systemd. Just sayin'

I've been digging deep in ancient archieves on my road to Linux and... please don't get me started on systemD...

PSA: the correct spelling of the name "systemd" is all lowercase

The poll mentions 2 init alternatives; I'm posting to remind that, across the linux ecosystem, many alternatives exist

source: without-systemd.org wiki Alternatives_to_systemd

SysV init
the traditional Linux System V init
date of latest release: 2019-02-25

ToyBox init
small and simple conventional init without runlevels included in ToyBox;
solely signal driven; (almost) compatible with BusyBox init (same config syntax/file)
date of latest release: 2019-02-09

oneit
very simple init launcher (just (re)spawns a single child process and reacts to incoming signals) included in ToyBox
date of latest release: 2019-02-09

BusyBox init
small and simple conventional init without runlevels, solely signal driven IPC (no fifos, sockets, SysV IPC); part of BusyBox
date of latest release: 2018-12-30

Pygos init
Small and quite simple init with task/service ordering used in Pygos GNU/Linux
(config and init script examples)
date of latest release: 2018-11-25

procd
OpenWrt init and process/service management daemon with ubus integration
date of latest release: 2018-07-30

dinit
dependency based C++ init with process supervision, roll-back, and socket activation
date of latest release: 2018-07-12

s6-linux-init
generates an exec-chaining init around s6-svscan
date of latest release: 2018-03-26

finit
event based, modular, extensible init with SysV runlevels, daemon supervision & logging, optional builtin getty and inetd
date of latest release: 2018-01-23

nosh
exec chaining, dependency-based daemontools family, C++ init and supervision suite
date of latest release: 2017-12-11

ueld
simple configuration, solely signal driven (akin to BSD/BusyBox/ToyBox init)
date of latest release: 2017-06-24

uinit
Smallest init possible
date of latest release: 2017-05-16

pies
dependency based GNU init daemon and super server with SysV runlevels, daemon supervision//logging
date of latest release: 2016-10-01

sninit
Small init implementation with SysV init like (sub)runlevels
date of latest release: 2015-12-31

epoch
sequential, non-parallel init without dependency tracking designed for minimal footprint and unified configuration
date of latest release: 2015-06-23

sinit
Simple init initially based on Rich Felker’s minimal init
date of latest release: 2015-06-16

For what it's worth, which is not much.... I like SysV init bestest...

manyroads wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:01 pm For what it's worth, which is not much.... I like SysV init bestest...

Have you used anything else?

Adrian wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:07 pm

manyroads wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:01 pm For what it's worth, which is not much.... I like SysV init bestest...

Have you used anything else?

I think the answer is "yes" but it was in the long ago past. The names on your list do not ring a bell.... sorry.

FWIW, I use OpenRC on Gentoo and it is fantastic. It works a lot like sysvinit but is better in many ways and doesn't have all of the deep complications and implications of systemd. If Debian had switched to OpenRC then I would have been jumping for joy. It fixes the problem with sysvinit without getting all up in your face.

IMO the Debian version of sysvinit has always been very kludgy going back to 2002 or so when I first encountered it. The init system used on Gentoo made so much more sense and was so much easier to use. By 2016 or so Debian had gotten rid of their most egregious problems but it still made perfect sense for them to want to change the init system. It's a crying shame they didn't choose OpenRC.

Since Debian still has more than a modicum of sysvinit support and AFAIK almost no OpenRC support I don't think it makes sense for us to try to change to OpenRC.

I was just researching to refresh my old brain... OpenRC is what I, also, liked.

I have to boot systemd to update my Expressvpn as you can not install a newer version on normal boot, even if with a hack it runs on sysVinit. At least that is not very often.