[gentoo-doc] Re: Pentoo-installer

[Duncan]

wireless posted on Thu, 31 Oct 2013 13:29:52 -0400 as excerpted:

> I just used the latest version of pentoo-installer.
>
> Quick recon: The only difference is make.conf is in /etc/portage/ ?

AFAIK, that's recommended for gentoo portage now too[1], tho there's
backward compatibility code in place to handle /etc/make.conf as well.

(That's my real reason for response, the below comments simply there
because I already am responding.)

> Anyone thought of just testing the pentoo-installer to install gentoo,
> quick and easy? I just think there should be a basic, easy install for
> gentoo. Pentoo offers that based on hardened (tool-chain and kernel).
>
> If there is a glaring problem with Pentoo, please post or drop me
> private email. The only problem I see is that it does not offer ZFS in
> the menu during installation.

AFAIK once you start shipping binaries (as an installer with that choice
would be doing) you end up in a legal gray area due to Sun-now-Oracle's
refusal to GPL the ZFS code.  Some would therefore consider that lack a
feature, not a bug.[3] =:^)

> Another idea:   What flags and configs would I have to change, if any,
> to keep the hardened tool-chain and kernel, but otherwise convert the
> Pentoo installation into a Gentoo system ?
>
> Or is Pentoo, just a specific needs gentoo installation?

I'd consider it the latter.  It's available as a gentoo overlay[2], at
least, thereby pretty much fitting the definition.

---
[1] The handbook even specifies /etc/portage/make.conf now, see

http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-amd64.xml?part=1&chap=5#doc_chap3

[2] At least, that's what wikipedia claims (keeping in mind
my stated reason for responding, I've no personal knowledge of
pentoo, so...) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentoo

[3] One of the great things about the manual installation method
is that it's so open-ended; the handbooks document reasonable
defaults, but they're just that, reasonable defaults, leaving the
user free to branch out and do their own thing wherever they feel
the want/need, and we even document some of those branches in
separate documentation such as the alternate install guide.  As
such, we can avoid the political debates and choices a more
featureful graphical installer could trigger, this being one of them.

Of course unofficial based-on/specific-needs subdistros such as
pentoo can do what they want, independent of gentoo.

So let's just not go into the whole zfs thing further,
and agree to leave it at that. =:^)

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman