Re: [gentoo-dev] usr merge

[M. J. Everitt]

On 10/04/16 04:49, Rich Freeman wrote:
> 1. As you point out, its not a package.  That means it works
> differently than everything else, and it can't be used as a
> dependency/etc.
> 2. Genkernel's initramfs isn't all that great.  Don't get me wrong -
> it was very good back when it was new.  However, I find it hard to
> compare it to the likes of dracut.
>
> However, if it were all that serious of an issue somebody would have
> fixed it by now.  Manually building a kernel and using dracut is easy
> enough, and of course some prefer to not use an initramfs if their
> configuration allows it.
>
I haven't dared explore dracut because last I heard it was still
experimental. That people are actively using it (presumably in
production and not just experimental/development suggests at the very
least that the appropriate Gentoo wiki article needs updating (no
surprise there!).

Perhaps indeed genkernel needs some updating. When I last looked at the
best means of creating an initramfs, it was the least of the evils, but
there did seem a genuine lack of tools to accomplish it, which is where
I assume dracut came about.

Fundamentally, acknowledging a tangent of the original thread, I'd say
the jury remains out on whether Gentoo should be forcing the need of an
initramfs/rd on its users by default anyway. That kind of thing,
however, is of course, subject to a Council ruling if appropriate :) .