Alpine: A Linux Distro That Shows That Not Everything Is GNU
Frequently, when Distributions (Distros) Linux it is about, what marks the informative guideline in this IT field, they are usually those that are GNU. Which, very possibly, is because it is usually thought that it is the only thing that exists, when it comes to Linux for ordinary users. And something similar usually happens, when talking about the Kernel Initiation Systems» (Init), because everything is centered on Systemd and SysVinit.
But the truth is that there are some Distros Linux that represent good and interesting alternatives to GNU and Systemd/SysVinit, being one of them the well-known Distribution "Alpine" Linux. Which, by the way, comes with OpenRC as starting system, uses its own package manager called apk, and uses script-guided configurations, among other notable things. And the same, recently (22/Nov), has had a new update under the number of version 3.17.0, and on which we will explore its news.
And, before starting to read this post about the Distribution "Alpine" Linux, we recommend the previous related posts, where we mention it, to explore at the end:
Alpine: A small, simple and secure Linux Distro
A bit about Alpine Linux
According to his Official website, it is briefly described as follows:
"Alpine Linux is a stand-alone, non-commercial, general-purpose Linux distribution designed for advanced users who appreciate security, simplicity, and resource efficiency."
Which usually means that it is a Ultra-light and security-oriented Linux-based Operating System, whose software is compiled using musl instead of the GNU C library (Libc) and implements OpenRC as a starting system. And what, moreover, replaces the GNU tools with Busybox, which is a single executable capable of emulating the operation of all of them.
musl
“Muslim is an implementation of the C standard library built on top of the Linux system call API, including interfaces defined in the base language standard, POSIX, and widely agreed-upon extensions. musl is lightweight, fast, simple, free and strives to be correct in the sense of standards compliance and security". musl
Busybox
"BusyBox combines tiny versions of many common UNIX utilities into a single small executable. Provides replacements for most of the utilities you normally find in GNU fileutils, shellutils, and many other packages". Busybox
OpenRC
"OpenRC is a dependency-based init system that works with the system-supplied init program, typically /sbin/init". OpenRC
Features
Among the latests Moravia's compositions essential design features The following can be briefly mentioned:
- Small: Es small and very efficient in managing resources. Therefore, and despite its small size, it offers a complete Linux environment, integrating a large selection of packages via repository.
- Simple: It's simple, mostly because it comes with the bare minimum needed for initial startup, and thanks to its own package manager called apk, and script-driven setups, everything else is quickly facilitated and supplemented.
- Segura: It is safe, since it was designed with safety in mind. Because of this, youAll your user zone binaries are compiled as position independent executables (PIE) with stack destruction protection.
News of its latest stable version 3.17.0
According to official announcement of the release of version 3.17.0, some of the most outstanding novelties with respect to the update of the packages that integrate it, are the following:
- Bash NOTHING
- GCC 12
- kea 2.2
- LLVM 15
- Open SSL 3.0
- Perl 5.36
- PostgreSQL 15
- Node.js (lts) 18.12
- Node.js (current) 19.1
- Ceph 17.2
- GNOME 43
- Go 1.19
- KDE Plasma 5.26
- Rest 1.64
- .NET 7.0.100
For more information about Alpine Linux you can directly access your User Manual y official wiki, FAQ section, and his download section, in case you want to try it.
Summary
In summary, "Alpine" Linux comes to be a Linux OS Developed by a community, especially considering its use on routers, firewalls, VPN networks, and some types of servers, among others. However, to this day, it is very well received by the advanced Linux users and some IT professionals seeking alternatives to GNU and Systemd/SysVinit. What has earned him reaching the 28 position on the web of DistroWatch. Therefore, if you have not tried it yet, we recommend you try it live or a virtual machine to see its potential.
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Hello, greetings, I wanted to install it but it only gives the option to format the hard drive, so no way, it doesn't have the option to choose the partition. It's a shame.