FreeBSD (GhostBSD) Question?

Polytropon freebsd at edvax.de
Wed Jul 22 12:53:10 UTC 2020


On Wed, 22 Jul 2020 06:22:52 -0500, Rob Belics wrote:
> > I wanted to get a FreeBSD distro flavor
> 
> Don't call it a "distro". That's a Linux term for their multitude of
> different packaging of the Linux kernel. FreeBSD is a complete operating
> system unto itself and you are either running FreeBSD or you are not. Some
> or all of the configurations you mention are just that--custom
> configurations of FreeBSD.

That is correct - those are additions, modifications and
pre-existing configurations for FreeBSD + selected set of
packages. The OS at its core is always the same.

The big difference to Linux is that there is no "the OS".
The different distributions select themselves what they
consider "the OS": the Linux kernel, and then a certain
selection of software. Depending on distribution target
audience and usage scope, this can vary greatly among
the different distributions. Even the mechanism of how
this software is combined, i. e., the package manager,
can be different. This also applies for what is the
startup mechanism, what is the default scripting shell,
or what is the logging mechanism.

For the... yes, how to call them correctly? Flavors?
Flavors of FreeBSD? Well, for those, the OS component,
containing system initialization, the package manager,
and so on, is the same. A notable exception was TrueOS
(ex PC-BSD) which added PBI - "push button install",
a custom method of installing and maintaining software
packages.

Or are those better be called versions of FreeBSD?
Or variants of FreeBSD? Or FreeBSD-derived systems?
Or custom FreeBSD builds?

Oh, and the "D" in "BSD" already means "distribution".
BSD = Berkeley Software Distribution. :-)



-- 
Polytropon
Magdeburg, Germany
Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...


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