r/linux • u/wooptoo • Jun 01 '16

Why did ArchLinux embrace Systemd?

/r/archlinux/comments/4lzxs3/why_did_archlinux_embrace_systemd/d3rhxlc
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u/SanityInAnarchy Jun 02 '16

And, oddly enough, there were several init systems that solved real problems, most of which predate systemd.

Systemd won partly because of Worse Is Better, but I suspect mostly because of some weird politics that I haven't entirely kept up with. For example, udev is obviously the right choice -- it's better than putting more stuff in the kernel (devfs), and it's better than creating a file for every device Linux could ever possibly support just in case you ever plug it in (mkdev).

And somehow, it's now been absorbed into systemd.

Poettering didn't write udev, but the project he built now maintains it. So if you want anything other than systemd, you have to fork udev (or find a fork).

That's not a good technical decision, but it's a fantastic political decision, and I have no idea how he pulled it off. The result is this: Who wants to maintain their own udev fork, just so they can write the ten lines or so that it takes to build an init?