I think this is really cool, but calling it a "systemd replacement" feels like click bait to me.<p>Systemd manages a huge number of things, and this doesn't even reap zombies, which all good init programs do. It doesn't support run levels, it doesn't support "resapwn" (for getty processes) -- hell feature-wise this isn't even a legit replacement for SysV init.<p>Having said that, I think this is a neat idea, and it'd be cool to have an emacs server process as a true pid 1 init, and when you SSH or go to the virtual terminals you'd get an "emacsclient".
Interesting. This runs on KISS Linux. <a href="https://getkiss.org/" rel="nofollow">https://getkiss.org/</a><p>Linux has become so versatile and powerful, but I miss the days of simple OS’s. I used to be a Unix OS architect and would study kernel code professionally while working on virtual memory systems, distributed file systems, and so forth. Linux has gotten so big now that I don’t think I’d have the energy to dive into the kernel code anymore.<p>The KISS Linux distro looks interesting because of it’s extreme focus on simplicity.
So here's this new kid, systemd, mindlessly gobbling os functionality and annoying the elders with binary log files.<p>And then the sleeping giants wake, Lisp and Emacs.<p>62-year old Lisp, based on Lambda calculus from 80-90 years ago, pretty much pioneered much of computer science.<p>And 44-year old emacs and 35-year old elisp, they pioneered subsuming.<p>I mean, there's a church of emacs.<p><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Richard_Stallman_-_Preliminares_2013.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Richard_...</a><p>by the way, emacs has already been used as init:<p><a href="http://www.informatimago.com/linux/emacs-on-user-mode-linux.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.informatimago.com/linux/emacs-on-user-mode-linux....</a>
As interesting as this is, SystemD replacement seems to be the wrong term, as it doesn't seem to support SystemD service, target, etc. files.<p>Maybe a better term might be "Init System"...
On the old fsf machine* I used Emacs as my login shell (in /etc/passwd), but this takes it to a whole new level. Outstanding!<p>* yes there was a time when the fsf’s only computer was a fax 750 (“soon to be running gnu”)
I'm curious if it is actually more "lightweight" than Systemd in terms of memory consumption or CPU load, especially it depends on emacs PID2. Less lines of code does not always means lightweight.
See also <a href="http://www.informatimago.com/linux/emacs-on-user-mode-linux.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.informatimago.com/linux/emacs-on-user-mode-linux....</a>
I now expect a few features from anything that aims at replacing my init and service manager. Beyond booting the system, I want to manage daemons:<p>* ease of use: I don't want to deal with background/foreground processes, storing PID in files and hacks like the old start-stop-daemon.sh.<p>* reliable services: if it stops, restart it automatically. But stop hammering if it fails repeatedly.<p>* sandboxing: this service must have no access to the network nor to /home, etc.<p>This "lightweight replacement" does not have this small subset of features, so it's more an alternative init than a replacement of systemd.
"emacs is a great operating system lacking only a decent text editor", goes the old joke. It's amusing that people are doing this. I wonder what text editor M. Schaefers will end up using. (-:
This is pretty interesting but sketchy..<p>Also.. Lets be cautious about getting Emacs reapable..
Do we really want to witness hoard of abominations (nice things too ofc) that would surface! :D
Lightweight, but written in EMACS aka "Eats Memory And CPU Superbly"?<p>Just kidding, I know EMACS is lightweight for todays standards, at least compared to electron apps :)