Exherbo - rethinking a linux distribution

Bryan Østergaard

Based on ideas and experience from many different Linux distributions Exherbo is an experiment in building a primarily sourcebased distribution from scratch. This talk will explore the building blocks of Exherbo and the processes involved in creating a distribution from scratch as well as the goals of Exherbo.

With a focus on new and more innovative aspects of Exherbo this talk will describe how our package format, package manager and init system makes it easier for the developers to maintain the distribution and how it helps users to manage their systems in an easier and more flexible way.

Bryan Østergaard started using Linux and open source software around the release of the 1.1.45 linux kernel. Ever since he's been using various Linux distributions and BSDs for everything for office applications, system and network administration and development. Between 2003 and 2007 he was one of the most active Gentoo Linux developers in both technical and management areas.

After leaving Gentoo in May 2007 he started tinkering with the idea of creating a new linux distribution from scratch. After spending a few months working on a very basic system and discussing the project with a few friends the project was named Exherbo internally and started growing slowly in terms of people involved. On May 19th 2008 Exherbo was announced to the world and have created a bit of a stir in the world of Linux distributions despite the very early stage it's in.

This page last updated: Thursday, September 4, 2008