Installing binary packages using the #portage package manager feels like watching paint dry, compared to other package managers. I can count multiple seconds per package, even when said package is empty (e.g. a virtual).
I've always wondered why that is. It *feels* wrong, and nobody has managed to explain it to me.
A few days ago, while waiting multiple hours for 1500 packages to install into a clean root, it finally bothered me enough to dig into it.
How packages with multiple build systems to choose from (either officially supported, or user-maintained) work:
1. The package has a primary non-CMake build system.
2. A #CMake build system is added.
3. Random reverse dependencies start depending on CMake exports from given package.
4. Distributions start switching over to CMake.
5. CMake turns out to be broken (again) in the next release.
6. You don't know if you can switch back, because you have no clue if some of the reverse dependencies don't require CMake exports.
This week's Gang of Four consists of Slackware KDE 6.3.3, Gentoo with dwm & Qtile Wayland, AerynOS with Gnome 48 and Asterix Saigon, my Aurora beta spin (Fedora 42). Although all are rolling and rocking this absolutely feels solid 
#AerynOS #slackware #Aurora #Gentoo
https://social.treehouse.systems/@mgorny/114137227235533135
Yes, they did it. #setuptools literally made lots of #Python packages (such as requests) explode, apparently in order to resolve a problem with their own test suite. Sure, that stuff has been deprecated for a long time. But as I've said multiple times, *nobody* sees these deprecation warnings.
Well, unless they run #Gentoo, because we have literally the only Python package installer out there that catches and repeats setuptools deprecation warnings verbosely. But we don't have time to fix deprecations in upstream packages while upstreams are making sure to set up fires all over the place, all the time.
@itsfoss #Gentoo and #NixOS are both hybrid distros. I love the fact that I can arbitrarily override the #Emacs package. Every time there's an update to the Emacs package in the (unstable) channel, my Emacs package gets rebuilt.
Gentoo's bindist is excellent, but it isn't as populated as Nixpkgs is.
I do hate how complex the Nix language is. It takes quite some getting used to. Perhaps if my hardware supported it I would have gone with Guix instead (I'm a little familiar with Guile and the #Lisp languages thanks to #Emacs #Elisp)
Some days I'm so tired of upstream developers being so adverse to downstream maintainers. Like, it's not just the ungratefulness — it's like completely neglecting the tons of work we're putting into keeping things working. And they literally rely on our work (unless they're running their own distribution).
Yeah, sure, maybe you don't use #Gentoo. Maybe you use #Debian, or #Fedora, or #Arch, or their derivates, or some other independent distribution. Does that mean that Gentoo work is insignificant? What if the developers of your distribution are facing exactly the same problem? And even if they weren't, does that mean that upstreams using Gentoo should become adverse to the distribution you're using?
Yeah, sure, maybe you don't agree with one of our principles or another. Maybe you even are a Gentoo user, yet disagree with how Gentoo works. Well, even so, you're not the only Gentoo user out there. We're doing the best we can with what we have, and we're trying to make sure things work best for everyone in Gentoo. I'm not saying we're always right, but you really should have a good reason to despise all the work we've been doing.
Yeah, sure, maybe you don't use distribution #Python packaging at all, maybe you despise it entirely and wish it would all be burned down to the ground in favor of everyone using wheels from #PyPI, or whatever. But guess what — there are people who actually find it advantageous, and benefit from it, and want to use it. And there are projects that simply don't work in that ecosystem at all, and need a better package manager. And we're here, for them.
So, yeah, sure. Maybe you don't use the distribution I'm working on, nor any projects I'm working on. Maybe you disagree with me on every single principle, and don't see any purpose in any of my work. Maybe you will never use any of it. Maybe your friends or your family, or anyone you know or care about will even benefit from any of it. Still, there's a lot of people who do and who need this, and who are you to give them the digitus impudicus?
"Some say she's still compiling dev-qt/qtwebengine to this day..."
So there are these guys who install #Arch and use #vim or #emacs and they think they are powerful #Unix gods. One such being is me myself.
I never had to reboot my computer or close the terminal to quit #neovim
But last night, I was using my #FreeBSD machine. I thought I watch a movie so I installed #mpv and upon starting it, I could not quit. The solution was powering off and rebooting my machine. Devastating, isn't it?
So dear Arch users, or #Gentoo users who think they are really geeky geeks and very brave. Give #BSDs a try :)
One #PyPy bug fixed, and #Gentoo gets #IPython on #PyPy 3.11.
One #Python stdlib bug fixed, and Gentoo gets #Django on PyPy 3.11.
I dare say that's a pretty good day.
https://github.com/pypy/pypy/pull/5239
https://github.com/python/cpython/pull/130962
Hello Linux enthusiasts - we've asked for your favorite Linux distro , but now I want to know - what features of your Linux distro make you stay with that distribution? Is it the package manager, the simplicity, the software (or software choices), or even the UI? We would love to know!
- Eridian
Some fun numbers: out of 823 packages featuring #PyPy 3.x support in #Gentoo, 712 have already been ported to PyPy 3.11. There are a few significant blockers left (notably #IPython, with hanging IPyParallel), and a fair number of packages that simply don't have tests (so I haven't looked at them yet).
Interesting enough, the most common test failures seen while porting to PyPy 3.11 are:
• flaky tests (i.e. just need to rerun, especially without parallelization of testing 70 packages simultaneously)
• existing, irrelevant test regressions (i.e. confirmed by testing with CPython 3.11)
• existing test problems with PyPy3.10 (i.e. need to copy deselects)
• some minor differences, such as slightly different exception messages
Serious issues are really rare, and they are often fixed (or worked around by me) promptly. Really great release! Thanks to everyone involved!
This week's Linux and FOSS news:
LINUX NEWS
Linux Mint team plans new Cinnamon app menu, Firefox root certificate expiring in older versions, website backend rewritten and containerized:
https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=4811
Gentoo offers bootable QCOW2 images for cloud deployment, without the need for manual installation:
https://ostechnix.com/bootable-gentoo-qcow2-disk-images/
(That's actually pretty cool, I could imagine beginner friendly distros like Linux Mint doing the same - but maybe with VirtualBox or VMWare images, because Windows users are probably more familiar with those - so they can try out Linux without the installation and then if they like the experience, they will be more motivated to learn how to install it on bare metal.)
Armbian 25.2 released with support for new boards, Linux kernel 6.12 LTS:
https://9to5linux.com/armbian-25-2-released-with-support-for-new-boards-linux-6-12-lts-and-more
KDE Plasma 6.3.2 released with Animated WebP and GIF support for Spectacle, bug fixes:
https://9to5linux.com/kde-plasma-6-3-2-released-with-animated-webp-and-gif-support-for-spectacle
Burn My Windows GNOME extension gets 4 new effects:
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/02/4-new-visual-effects-added-to-burn-my-windows-gnome-extensions
(They can't burn my Windows because I don't have it installed 200IQ lol)
Linux kernel 6.14 RC4 released with driver fixes, filesystem improvements, core kernel enhancements, networking adjustments:
https://ostechnix.com/linux-kernel-6-14-rc4-released/
NVIDIA 570 driver released with VRR (variable refresh rate) support on multi-monitor setups, new conceal_vrr_caps kernel module parameter to enable usage of features on some displays such as ULMB (Ultra Low Motion Blur), support for querying Dynamic Boost status, 32-bit compatibility support for the NVIDIA GBM backend, support for the systemd suspend-then-hibernate method of system sleep etc:
https://9to5linux.com/nvidia-570-linux-graphics-driver-released-with-new-features-and-improvements
Lutris 0.5.19 released with enhanced Proton integration, option to set the location of the emulator BIOS file used by libretro in the preferences etc.:
https://alternativeto.net/news/2025/2/lutris-0-5-19-brings-enhanced-proton-integration-and-other-enhancements-for-linux-gamers/
(FOSS news in comment)
Developers - what is your favorite Linux distro? Is it Fedora, Ubuntu, Arch Linux, or some derivative? Let us know!
Debian, Redhat, Gentoo lovers too!
- Eridian
done.
