Re: [gentoo-user] Re: can one tell me: gentoo vs opensuse

[Alan McKinnon <alan.mckinnon@gmail.com>]

On Sun, 4 Dec 2011 13:55:28 +0000
Neil Bothwick <neil@digimed.co.uk> wrote:

> > For the OP, a few posters have mentioned that under gentoo, every
> > thing is compiled from scratch, but it was not made clear that it
> > happens again and again at most updates.  
> 
> If the OP had read so  little about Gentoo that they haven't gleaned
> that much, it certainly is not the distro for them.

I'd go so far as to say that if a user does not already have a
reasonable grasp of how Gentoo works, can't give you a one-paragraph
description of Gentoo that is reasonably accurate, and can't describe
the concepts of how an ebuild would work, then Gentoo is not the
distro for that user.

Gentoo is like fine Italian vehicles - you can get stunning
performance IF you know what you are doing, know what all the bits mean
and are prepared to invest the insane amount of time and effort it
requires (per the rule of diminishing returns). There's always a few
edge cases like James, who simply cannot find any other useful way to
build his embedded images. I suspect James looked at the landscape and
saw two choices: build his own build machinery, or use Gentoo's which
fits most of his needs most of the time.

As soon as someone asks a question like "which is better, OpenSuSE
or Gentoo?" you almost always know the answer cannot possibly be
Gentoo. That user has to play with OpenSuSE for a while to discover for
himself why this is so.

I'm going to get flamed for this, and be accused of being elitist. It
happens every time. And that's OK:

If SuSE/RedHat were likened to good ready-made furniture, Debian would
be top-grade DIY kits (they follow a formula but the user has some
freedom to tweak what they build) and Gentoo wouldn't be furniture, it
would be a cabinet-maker (with a concession that the user doesn't have
to grow their own trees anymore, he can at least buy ready cut planks).
LFS is the one that requires you to grow your own trees as well.

There's a place in this world for amateur and professional
cabinet-makers, but do we really want to recommend that the average DIY
guy has to become one?

I say suggest that the potential tinkerers cut their teeth on Debian
first then switch to Gentoo on their own determinism when they
understand the cost/benefit ratio themselves and can make an informed
decision.

-- 
Alan McKinnnon
alan.mckinnon@gmail.com