Void Linux Explained

Void Linux
Developer:
  • Void Linux Team,
  • Void Linux Community,
  • Original developer: Juan Romero Pardines (xtraeme)
Family:Linux (Unix-like)
Working State:Current
Source Model:Open source
Released:2008
Latest Release Version:Rolling release
Latest Release Date:installation medium [1]
Marketing Target:General purpose
Package Manager:
  • XBPS,
  • XBPS-SRC
Supported Platforms:
Kernel Type:Monolithic (Linux)
Userland:GNU + Glibc or GNU + Musl
Influenced By:NetBSD
Ui:Command-line interface (Bourne shell as the default shell), Xfce
License:Various licenses; Void-made software is mostly licensed under BSD 2-clause

Void Linux[3] is an independent Linux distribution that uses the X Binary Package System (XBPS) package manager, which was designed and implemented from scratch, and the runit init system. Excluding binary kernel blobs, a base install is composed entirely of free software (but users can access an official non-free repository to install proprietary software as well).[4] [5]

History

Void Linux was created in 2008 by Juan Romero Pardines, a former developer of NetBSD,[6] to have a test-bed for the XBPS package manager. The ability to natively build packages from source using xbps-src is likely inspired by pkgsrc and other BSD ports collections.[7]

In May 2018, the project was moved to a new website and code repository by the core team after the project leader had not been heard from for several months.[8] [9] [10]

As of May 2024, Void is the highest rated project on DistroWatch, with a score of 9.26 out of 10.[11]

Features

Void is a notable exception to the majority of Linux distributions because it uses runit as its init system instead of the more common systemd used by other distributions.[12] It is also unique among distributions in that separate software repositories and installation media using either glibc or musl are available.

Void was the first distribution to have incorporated LibreSSL[3] as the system cryptography library by default.[2] In February 2021, the Void Linux team announced Void Linux would be switching back to OpenSSL on March 5, 2021. Among the reasons were the problematic process of patching software that was primarily written to work with OpenSSL, the support for some optimizations and earlier access to newer algorithms.[13] A switch to OpenSSL began in April 2020 in the GitHub issue of the void-packages repository where most of the discussion has taken place.[14]

Due to its rolling release nature, a system running Void is kept up-to-date with binary updates from the repositories in contrast with a point release. [15] Source packages are maintained on GitHub and can be compiled using the xbps-src build system. The package build process is performed in a clean environment, not tied to the current system, and most packages can be cross-compiled for foreign architectures.

As of April 2017, Void Linux supports Flatpak, which allows the installation of the latest packages from upstream repositories.[16]

Editions

Void Linux can be downloaded as a base image or as a flavor image. The base image contains little more than basic programs; users can then configure an environment for themselves. The flavor image contains a pre-configured Xfce desktop environment. Cinnamon, Enlightenment, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, and GNOME used to be offered as pre-packaged live images, but are no longer offered "in order to decrease the overhead involved with testing."[17] [18]

The live images contain an installer that offers a ncurses-based user interface. The default root shell is Dash.[15]

Platform! colspan="2"
C libraryDesktop environment
glibcmuslXfce
i686rowspan="2"
amd64colspan="2"
ARM-based
Raspberry Pi 1/2/3/4/5

Derivatives

Void Linux for PowerPC/Power ISA (unofficial) was[19] a fork of Void Linux for PowerPC and Power ISA, with the project ending in early 2023. It supported 32-bit and 64-bit devices, big-endian and little-endian operation, and musl and glibc. Void-ppc maintained its own build infrastructure and package repositories, and aimed to build all of Void Linux's packages on all targets. It was a fork largely because of technical issues with Void Linux's build infrastructure.[20]

Project Trident was a Linux distribution based on Void Linux,[21] but was discontinued[22] in March of 2022.[23]

Reception

In February 2023, Jesse Smith, of DistroWatch, said "The Void distribution is one of the fastest, lightest, most cleanly designed Linux distributions I've had the pleasure of using. Everything is trim, efficient, and surprisingly fast." Also, "Void has a relatively small repository of software [but] most of the key applications are there."[24]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: March 2024 Image Release (and Raspberry Pi 5 support) . 14 March 2024 . 5 April 2024.
  2. Web site: The Void (Linux) distribution. 2021-10-19. 2019-02-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20190207072942/https://voidlinux.org/. live.
  3. Web site: Void. DistroWatch. 2015-09-22. 2018-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20180614171354/https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=void. live.
  4. Web site: Void Linux: A Salute to Old-School Linux. Jack. Wallen. 2017-10-27. Linux.com. 2021-05-02. 2019-02-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20190228221321/https://www.linux.com/learn/intro-to-linux/2017/10/void-linux-salute-old-school-linux. live.
  5. Web site: Returning to the Void. Jesse. Smith. DistroWatch Weekly. DistroWatch. 714. 2017-05-29. 2021-05-02. 2019-07-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20190730144813/https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20170529#void. live.
  6. Web site: Void Linux: Distribution mit XBPS-Paketverwaltung. Hans-Joachim. Baader. 2015-06-12. Pro-Linux. de. 2021-05-02. 2021-05-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20210502205314/https://www.pro-linux.de/news/1/22419/void-linux-distribution-mit-xbps-paketverwaltung.htm. live.
  7. Web site: Hackover Vortrag zu Void Linux . 2014-10-25 . 2015-09-22 . de . 2015-09-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150923094954/http://media.ccc.de/browse/conferences/hackover/2014/hackover14_-_6479_-_de_-_raum_1_7_-_201410251300_-_voidlinux_-_gottox.html . live .
  8. Web site: Serious Issues . voidlinux.org . May 2018 . 10 July 2018 . en . 1 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190401074912/https://voidlinux.org/news/2018/05/serious-issues.html . live .
  9. Web site: GitHub Organisation is moving . voidlinux.org . 3 June 2018 . 10 July 2018 . en . 1 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190401074904/https://voidlinux.org/news/2018/06/GitHub-Organisation-is-moving.html . live .
  10. Web site: ENOBDFL. Michael. Aldridge. November 28, 2018. 2019-05-22. 2019-08-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20190830101113/https://michaelwashere.net/post/2018-11-28-enobdfl/. live.
  11. Web site: DistroWatch Project Ranking . 2023-07-24 . DistroWatch . en . 2019-08-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190822235230/https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=ranking . live .
  12. Web site: Without Systemd . 2015-09-22 . 2020-05-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200511071432/http://without-systemd.org/wiki/ . live .
  13. Web site: Switching back to OpenSSL . 23 February 2021 . 2021-03-01 . 2021-10-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211016010207/https://voidlinux.org/news/2021/02/OpenSSL.html . live .
  14. Web site: [RFC] Switching back to OpenSSL #20935 ]. . 2021-03-01 . 2021-02-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210228135410/https://github.com/void-linux/void-packages/issues/20935 . live .
  15. Web site: Looking into the Void distribution . DistroWatch Weekly . DistroWatch . 604 . Jesse Smith . 2015-04-06 . 2015-09-22 . 2018-06-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180628015459/https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20150406 . live .
  16. Web site: Flatpak . 2017-04-14 . 2018-08-11 . 2019-04-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190401074903/https://voidlinux.org/news/2017/04/Flatpak.html . live .
  17. Web site: Index of /live/20210218. 2021-11-08. 2021-11-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20211120092526/https://alpha.de.repo.voidlinux.org/live/20210218/. dead.
  18. Web site: Void Downloads. en. 2021-11-08. 2021-10-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20211018084836/https://voidlinux.org/download/. live.
  19. Web site: Project status update for 2023 . 2022-10-04 . 2022-09-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220916103231/https://voidlinux-ppc.org/news/2022/09/repo-update.html . dead .
  20. Web site: About - Void Linux for PPC (unofficial) documentation . 2019-09-20 . 2020-10-27 . 2020-10-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201031211328/https://docs.voidlinux-ppc.org/ . dead .
  21. Web site: Project Trident Ditches BSD for Linux . 2019-10-19 . 2021-02-22 . 2021-03-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210308132117/https://itsfoss.com/bsd-project-trident-linux/ . live .
  22. Web site: Project Trident Sunset. 29 October 2021 . https://archive.today/20211223122017/https://project-trident.org/post/2021-10-29_sunset/. 23 December 2021.
  23. Web site: 2021-11-04 . After Moving From FreeBSD to Void Linux, Project Trident Finally Discontinues . 2023-01-21 . It's FOSS News . en . 2023-01-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230121174430/https://news.itsfoss.com/project-trident-discontinues/ . live .
  24. Web site: Smith . Jesse . 2023-02-20 . Underrated distributions . 2023-02-24 . . 2023-02-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230223050034/https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20230220#qa . live .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Void Linux".

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