Try Lunar Linux

[Neuromancer]

Hi,

I have used gentoo for a few years then moved to Arch Linux. But I am still interested in a source based distribution, that's why I installed Sourcemage today. I am quite disappointed : it doesn't work well, there is almost no documentation and no activity on the forums. So, I now would like to try Lunar Linux. What are the advantages and the limitations of this distribution. What are the difference between Lunar Linux and Gentoo or Sourcemage ?

[ElAngelo]

Hi,

As you can see the forums are not all that active... We (devs of lunar-linux) are best reachable by irc (freenode #lunar) for specific questions.

I will not compare lunar with sourcemage for you... I never used sourcemage so i don't feel that i'm in the position to make this comparison. All i can say is that sourcemage provides you with more questions(options) when you install a module/program/package.

I have used gentoo (2-3 years ago) and i can compare with that... Still i'm biased cause i hated gentoo package management system... So if you liked portage you might wanna stick with gentoo.

What i can tell you about lunar? (with some comparison to gentoo)
1. it's not streamlined (you will find errors and when you report them through the bug reporting system, irc or the fora they will get fixed). Some things you will encounter are things that we are aware of already and won't fix... (due to impossible due to licenses, not compatible with our build system etc etc, you'll get to hear what we don't like about a certain solution).
2. One of the main advantages of lunar is the package management system... it's very easy to grasp and to create your own modules, the "overlays" (that's how it's called in portage right?) are much easier than in gentoo (you just dump adjusted modules in another folder and be done with it)
3. We use only standard *NIX tools, have almost no real specific lunar tools (with the exception of a tool for the network and a tool for account setup but even those are optional). And of course the commands part of the package management system. We install in standard locations and that's why documentation you'll find anywhere else is just as valid on lunar as on any other system....
4. We like to keep it simple and stupid. Don't expect any wizards to configure this or that, don't expect any wizards to take care of merging your etc files (damn i hated that stupid thing in gentoo, never understood why it needed to be so complicated). Don't expect masked or unmasked modules we only have 1 version of each module/package at a time in moonbase. so currently there is xfce 4.4.1 and no other version there. If you need older versions you will need to master the svn command to pull out revisions of the svn repository of moonbase.
5. if you can't live with the fact that it will break lunar is not for you. We do provide tools to fix it but don't expect a flawless smooth install... it's a source based distro so it's quirky with times

i could go on and on .... but in the end you'll just have to try it to see if you like it... All i can say that arch linux is on the top of my list of binary distro's so you might feel comfortable with lunar as well...

try it and remember to join us on #lunar
gr,S