What is Arch Linux Operating system?
What is Arch Linux Operating system?
In the world of technology, everyone is looking for the best operating system for their goals and activities, fortunately, with the advancement of technology, a good answer has been provided for every need, and users have the right to choose between thousands of options. Still, to make the right choice, they need to be aware. raise
Arch Linux will be the first choice if we want to introduce a simple, light, and minimal distribution. This Linux distribution has provided easy customization for users.
The Linux operating system, with its various types of distributions, is among the most popular and widely used operating systems that users choose for desktop and server environments. The subject of today’s article is Arch Linux, which you may be familiar with or may be hearing about for the first time. Still, if you have searched for Arch Linux, you must be looking for a valuable and comprehensive article that explains everything about Arch Linux.
Arch Linux is one of the GNU-Linux distributions with modern, simple, practicality, user-oriented, and adaptable features. The Arch Linux operating system is minimal and light and aims to attract more experts and users of Linux to this distribution; However, most Linux distributions are known for simplicity and ease, but Arch Linux intends to provide an integrated operating system with the ability to customize different parts. has the
We decided to introduce you to what is Arch Linux operating system, the advantages, and reasons for using this operating system, and who should use the Arch Linux operating system if you are looking for a comprehensive article about Arch Linux.
Arch Linux is an open-source, accessible, and independent distribution released by Judd Vinet in 2002 and inspired by CRUX. Arch Linux is a light and modern yet straightforward distribution with a minimal nature and practical and user-oriented. This distribution allows you to customize the operating system and have a lot of control over the system. To put it simply, Arch Linux is simple and light and avoids unnecessary and complex plugins. Users can design according to their needs and take advantage of its elegant and minimalist nature.
Of course, you should pay attention to the operating system’s simplicity more from the developer’s and programmer’s point of view than from the user’s point of view.
Arch has introduced the idea of do-it-yourself (DIY) to users. With the facilities it provides, it has tried to give enough freedom for users to personalize their resources according to their needs.
Arch Linux puts every decision on the user so they can choose all the features and change the system according to their needs. As a result, the system’s speed increases, and the hardware resources can be used more optimally. With the help of this feature, transferring from any operating system to Arch Linux is attractive and exciting.
Arch Linux is intended for computers with x86-64 architecture and processors. Arch Linux repositories contain libre and nonfree software and have the default Arch Linux kernel, including nonfree proprietary blobs.
ArchLinux has the Pacman package manager, dedicated to installing, removing, and updating software packages. Arch Linux differs from significant distributions such as Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Kali, Fedora, Centura, RHEL, and SUSE with its package management system and philosophy.
This operating system always provides users with the latest updates. It has the latest available kernel, and it is a rolling release system, which means that you install this operating system only once and then receive its updates.
History of Arch Linux
In March 2002, Judd Vinet developed the Arch Linux operating system efficiently, inspired by the CRUX simplistic distribution. The first official version of Arch Linux 0.1 was released on March 11, 2002, compatible with the 32-bit x86 architecture, but supporting x86_64 was introduced in April 2006.
Vinet developed Arch Linux inspired by distributions such as Slackware, BSD, PLD Linux, and CRUX. Still, the lack of a package manager program was an important problem for him, so he decided to write a dedicated package manager for Arch Linux under the title Pacman star and ted to control and check the installation, removal, and updating of software packages automatically.
The management of the Arch Linux project was under the responsibility of Vinet until October 1, 2007, after which he handed over the leadership and control of the project to Aaron Griffin due to his busy schedule.
For some reason, Aaron Griffin handed over the the project management to Levente Polyak on February 24, 2020. Arch Linux announced in January 2017 that it no longer supports the i686 platform, and the last ISO with i686 support was released in February of that year…Advantages of Arch Linux operating system
Every popularity has a reason, and if Arch Linux has its fans, then it must have achieved features that set it apart from other operating systems. We will talk to you about these features and the distinction of Arch Linux.
Customization capability
As we mentioned at the beginning, Arch Linux, as a DIY (do-it-yourself) operating system allows the user to customize the most minor details and all the user’s desired features and allocate the operating system resources.
After loading the ISO file for installation, the user can freely monitor and control various functional aspects, which is a fundamental distinguishing feature of Arch Linux.
It should be noted that installing the clean version of the Arch Linux operating system does not have windows management tools and the desktop environment by default, and the user must choose and build his desired domain from the ground up and configure different parts of the operating system with other features and components. Slow personalization; Arch Linux is lightweight due to this feature that does not have a pre-defined program by default, and also the possibility of removing programs and non-functional items, as well as delegating authority to the user, Arch Linux operating system as a platform. Introduces flexible, powerful with high availability.
Note: Of course, to install Arch Linux and simplify the installation process, you can use GUI installers such as Anarchy and Zen installers that is compatible with this operating system.
New, up-to-date and advanced technology
Arch Linux uses a model for releasing updates that provide direct access to the latest versions and immediately provide users with each update after it is released. Since this operating system is a rolling release, it is constantly updated with the latest fixes and new features, and you no longer need to worry about incompatibility or partial failure of your system with updates; Because it is compatible with any update and that is why this operating system has become one of the stable Linux distributions.
It is also interesting to know that it is not necessary to understand the versions to receive the updates; it is enough to use the pacman-Syu command and easily install the updates and enjoy the latest features. Arch Linux creates a good experience for those interested in using the latest features.
Arch Linux User Repository (AUR)
Another distinguishing feature of Arch Linux is the Arch User Repository (AUR). This distribution includes a community-driven repository controlled and supported by the user community, which consists of the description of packages (PKGBUILDs), which allows a package to be compiled from source using makepkg and then installed by Pacman.
Users can access that package in the user repository before the box is added to the arch Linux central repository. As a result, users can access a world of new software.
AUR is designed to organize and share new community packages and speed up access to popular packages in Arch community repositories; AUR has dramatically expanded the offering of official Arch repositories.
Valuable Arch Wiki
Arch Linux is the best distribution among Linux fans in terms of providing comprehensive and reliable documentation and resources. We did not exaggerate the definition of Arch Linux documentation available to users because it includes a level beyond this distribution and a vast library of documents and documents about Arch Linux, its derivatives and related facts, installation guides, and training. Provides post-installation files so that when you encounter a problem with your system, you can easily find a working solution from the Arch Wiki.
Arch Linux responds to different purposes.
Pacman, as an extraordinary packet manager, which is specifically responsible for managing Arch packages, has high flexibility, so that in addition to installing binary packages in Arch repositories, it can also install binaries compiled from source by makepkg also supports. As a result, Arch Linux acts as a bridge between distributions that ignore the convenience of users due to the ability to compile binary files from the source through settings, and distributions that provide the possibility of installing binary packages through the package management system.
Getting to know and better understand Arch Linux
The main pleasure of working with Arch Linux is felt after installing the clean version of this operating system; Because all the changes and decisions are the responsibility of the users, and it has a complex installation process that is done in a complete command line environment, of course, this complexity may be difficult and daunting for beginners. Still, it is an advantage for professionals that Learn more about the Linux environment.
Through this operating system, you can get acquainted with the concepts of display managers, chroot, network configurations, and many other practical ideas of Linux and learn new tips; for example, using the network manager can be a unique experience for many users, who can configure Manually creates the grid.
In addition to these features, Arch Linux has increased its capabilities by providing security tools and penetration testing by the Black Arch repository for those in the cyber security field.
Of course, you can look for simpler and faster solutions compared to Arch Linux, but if you want to gain experience and know the reason why some problems occur and how to solve them in the Linux environment, Arch Linux and its vast knowledge base, It is an excellent option to start.
flexibility
Working with Arch Linux, along with its complexities, is very pleasant the operating system is very flexible you can change it in any way you like, and you are free from installing it by choosing modules to add programs to the features you need. As a result, you don’t have to put up with a bulky set of unnecessary apps by default. The flexibility of this operating system is a great advantage.
Disadvantages of Arch Linux operating system
Although this operating system has unique capabilities, it is unsuitable for beginner users who want to learn about Linux. Try virtual and install it on the system after gaining skill.
The Arch Linux operating system has a complicated and time-consuming installation and troubleshooting process, and you can’t always trust that the software in the AUR is safe and up-to-date.
Who should use Arch Linux?
Arch is very technical at its core, and highly knowledgeable professionals and technical users can get the best out of it due to the DIY nature of this operating system.
With the use of technical knowledge, sufficient skills, and also benefiting from an active user community, Arch Linux can be optimized for various purposes and customized according to needs.
ArchLinux emphasizes its superiority over other Linux distributions by having the unique features of Pacman and AUR because these features are only available in the Arch Linux operating system and its distributions.
The BlackArch repository is one of the repositories that can be added to Arch Linux and benefit from its collection of security tools, one of the most popular repositories among cyber security specialists.
What is PacMan? And what is his duty?
As we mentioned, PacMan is responsible for managing all software packages so that it installs, updates, deletes, or restores packages and automatically understands the relationship and dependency between packages. And recognizes pacman is designed to install software based on tar.gz or tar. zest format packages. It should also be noted that Arch Linux packages are optimized for x86-64 architecture and are supplied from Arch package repositories.
Is Arch Linux recommended for beginners?
Due to its DIY nature, Arch Linux is not recommended for beginners who do not know Linux and its capabilities because, in Arch Linux, all processes are done and determined by the user from the beginning of the installation process; this feature is an advantage above. Great for professional users but worrisome for novice users.
Suppose you are determined to choose arch Linux and you do not have enough experience and knowledge about the Linux environment. In that case, it is better to first install the Arch Linux operating system on a virtual machine. After familiarizing yourself with its environment, you can choose it for your primary purposes.
The next option for beginners can be to use simpler distributions based on Arch Linux. For example, Arch Linux and Manjaro are the simplest Arch Linux distributions. Manjaro is one of the user-friendly distributions with a simple user interface for beginners and a set of ready-made software that will be useful for users’ daily tasks.
Conclusion
Arch Linux is a Linux distribution created for simplicity, user-centeredness, optimization, and versatility, which is different from all Linux distributions and is recommended for professionals with high knowledge; Because they can optimize other goals by benefiting from its advantages and the possibility of customization. There are many Linux distributions, we only discussed the Arch Linux distribution here, and if you like to learn about other Linux distributions, you can visit the article for the complete list of Linux operating system distributions.
