this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2023
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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The question you ask in the title is a more general one that you ask in the title.
Yes, Gentoo is a good choice.
No, it is not worth compiling every package. This should not be the main reason you choose Gentoo.
Admittedly, I started with Gentoo for the same reason (per-package compilation), hoping for performance gains. However, I stayed because of the excellent documentation, the great user community; the rolling versions; the customizability and control I have over my system, the choices I need to make when installing, and keep making as the install is continuously set up over the years.
I’ve tried quite a few distros over the (+20) years of Linux-use. I keep choosing Gentoo.
Arch has great documentation, rolling release, and customizability, minus the compilation. Obviously, use Gentoo if you want to. But for advanced Linux users, I highly recommend Arch.
As a long time Gentoo user I tried Arch a few times but the whole AUR mess instead of using the same tools for distro, community and my own packages really put me off.
Use an AUR helper.
The fact that there are so many of those is part of the mess I mentioned.
Arch works for me, Gentoo works for you.
I'd still rather recommend Arch over Gentoo so people don't start whining, "eVeRy tHiNg tAkEs 4eVar!".
Oh, I never said other people shouldn't use Arch. In general though, I would probably recommend neither to the kind of person who needs distro recommendations.
I've heard good things about Arch. Indeed, I installed it on one of my boxes, where I specifically wanted to avoid a lot of compilations, besides being curious about it.
Used it for a bit over a year know and... I don't know, it hasn't been as stable, and I've find using AUR more of a chore than custom ebuild repos. It's probably great when you get used to it, but so far I still prefer Gentoo.
It's great, that there are several good distros for different use cases, and that we have the freedom to choose what suits us best!
"it hasn't been as stable" I say that's bad luck. Maybe if I went to try Gentoo some bad source code might've gotten pushed and then I'd get a bad impression.
Also, I only have access to potatoes. Also, I use the chaotic aur repo, otherwise I would've given up ages ago.