Void Linux is a bit out of the ordinary. It offers an unusually interesting alternative to many of the traditional Linux distros affiliated with a larger Linux family such as Debian or Ubuntu or Arch.
Void Linux is an independently developed, rolling-release, general-purpose operating system. That means that its software is either homegrown or plain-vanilla compiled.
Some of Void Linux’s under-the-hood specifics include its own package management system, dubbed “XBPS,” for X-binary Package System, an initialization system called “runit,” and integration of LibreSSL instead of OpenSSL for Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol.
In fact, Void Linux was among the first distributions to switch to LibreSSL by default, replacing OpenSSL when developers forked from OpenSSL in 2014. Their goal was to modernize the code base, improve security, and apply best practice development processes.
The latest release, version 20181111, comes with an interesting selection of desktop environments: Base system, Enlightenment, Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce, LXDE and LXQt.
However, Void Linux is not a computing platform for everyone. It is not a typical distro. It works out-of-the-box with barebones basic system tools and a few software packages, such as Web browser, file manager and text editor.
Anything else you must add from a limited Void Linux repository. More software is available from binary packages that you must compile before use.
Source: https://www.linuxinsider.com/story/Void-Linux-Built-From-Scratch-for-Full-Independence-85703.html
Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht
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