83 lines
3.4 KiB
HTML
83 lines
3.4 KiB
HTML
{% extends "base.html" %}
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{% block content %}
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<div class="box">
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<h2 class="title">About Arch Linux</h2>
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<p>
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Arch Linux is a general purpose linux distribution that can be molded to
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do just about anything. It is fast, lightweight, flexible, and most of the
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parts under the hood are quite simple to understand and tweak, which can
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make it a good distro to "learn the ropes" on. We do not provide any
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configuration helper utilities (ie, you won't find <i>linuxconf</i> in
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here) so you will quickly become very proficient at configuring your system
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from the shell commandline.
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</p>
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<p>
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Arch Linux uses i686-optimized packages which gives us improved
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performance over some of our i386-optimized cousins. This means that Arch
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Linux will only run on a Pentium II processor or higher. We try to stay
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fairly bleeding edge, and typically have the latest stable versions of
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software.
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</p>
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<p>
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Arch Linux uses the <a href='http://www.archlinux.org/pacman'>Pacman</a>
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package manager, which couples a simple binary package format with an
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easy-to-use build system, allowing the users to easily manage and customize
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their packages, whether they be official Arch packages or the user's own
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homegrown ones. The repository system allows users to build and maintain
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their own custom package repositories, which encourages community growth and
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contribution.
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</p>
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<p>
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Pacman can keep a system up to date by synchronizing package lists with
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the master server, making it a breeze for the security-conscious system
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administrator to maintain. This server/client model also allows you to
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download/install packages with a simple command, complete with all required
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dependencies (similar to Debian's apt-get).
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</p>
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<p>
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Arch's official package set is fairly streamlined, but we supplement this
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with a larger, more complete "extra" repository that contains a lot of the
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stuff that never made it into our core package set. This repository is
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constantly growing with the help of packages submitted from our strong
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community.
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</p>
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<p>
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Arch Linux does not provide any official support, but you will find a lot
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of helpful people on our IRC channel and on our <a
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href='http://bbs.archlinux.org'>user forums</a>. Chances are that some other
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Archer has had the same problem/question as you and it's already been
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answered. Ask around!
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</p>
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<p>
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Arch Linux uses a "rolling release" system which works like this: We have
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two versions of our core package set at any given time, <b>Current</b> and
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<b>Release</b>. The Current repository always contains the latest and
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greatest versions of packages. As soon as a package is updated it is part of
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the Current repository, so this is the one to follow if you want to stay very
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up to date. The Release repository follows the semi-regular snapshot
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releases and does not update until the next snapshot/iso has been released.
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For example, the Release repository will point to all packages on the 0.5 ISO
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until we release 0.6; then it will point to 0.6 packages until 0.7 is
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released. This is useful if you only want to update your system when a new
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release is available.
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</p>
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<p>
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So, to sum up: Arch Linux is a workhorse distribution designed to fit the
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needs of the competent linux user. We strive to make it both powerful and
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easy to manage, making it an ideal distro for servers and workstations. Take
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it in any direction you like.
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</p>
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</div>
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<br /><br />
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{% endblock %}
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