Re:OpenBSD 7.0
by deltarholamda on Thursday October 14, 2021 @11:30AM
(#28865684)
>prioritising being a cohesive operating system and docs
This is one of the areas where OpenBSD really shines. Their documentation is really good. FreeBSD is also quite good, but I've been consistently impressed with OpenBSD's docs since 2.5.
Linux distros can't reach the same level of quality due to being less cohesive at the base, though they do make up for it with quantity. You can search for most Linux issues and find an answer.
Arch was the most BSD-ish when I tried it a few years back
This is usually said about Slackware. (It uses the BSD style init system.)
Re:OpenBSD 7.0
by ToddWBurgess on Thursday October 14, 2021 @09:44AM
(#28864108)
I got FreeBSD running on a Raspberry PI. It isn't too hard to install and get up and running. I primarily use FreeBSD on the Pi for ARM assembly programming. All BSDs are great for devs.
Re:OpenBSD 7.0
by blacktriangle on Thursday October 14, 2021 @10:08AM
(#28864415)
ooc why didn't you try NetBSD? Isn't running on every little device kinda their wheelhouse?
Re:OpenBSD 7.0
by ToddWBurgess on Thursday October 14, 2021 @10:16AM
(#28864553)
I did try NetBSD first on the Pi but the install wasn't working for me. Getting FreeBSD up and running on the Raspberry Pi was a lot less painful. If I really want to kick around NetBSD I can run an instance of it in GNU Boxes on one of my Linux boxes.
I find this angle quite interesting. Once a system clears that bar of "it works pretty well and does what I need" stuff like documentation and a well ordered experience is what's matters. Not what's under the hood in terms of code.
This speaks to the need for non-coders taking part in open-source projects.
I'm less familiar with OpenBSD but it is similar in terms of prioritising being a cohesive operating system and docs. Some design choices the team have made for reasons such as security make the system feel sluggish by modern standards, even compared to other BSDs. You might get a lot of mileage out of it if you enjoy old school C programming and reading the source code for coreutils libraries.