mirror of
https://github.com/oasislinux/oasis.git
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Michael Forney
174 lines
6.3 KiB
Markdown
174 lines
6.3 KiB
Markdown
# oasis
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[](https://builds.sr.ht/~mcf/oasis/commits/master/.build.yml)
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oasis is a small linux system.
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It is probably quite a bit different from other Linux-based operating
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systems you might be familiar with, and is closer to a BSD.
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There are many features that distinguish it from other operating
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systems:
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* Completely statically linked.
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All software in the base system is linked statically, including the
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display server ([velox]) and web browser ([netsurf]). Compared to
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dynamic linking, this is a simpler mechanism which eliminates
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problems with upgrading libraries, and results in completely
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self-contained binaries that can easily be copied to other systems.
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[velox]: https://github.com/michaelforney/velox
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[netsurf]: https://www.netsurf-browser.org
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* Fast reproducible builds.
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All packages are built with [samurai], using build manifests generated
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by [Lua scripts]. This involves considerable up-front packaging
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cost, but minimal maintenance cost, and offers numerous advantages,
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including near optimal build times, predictable and reproducible
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builds, reduced build-time dependencies, and incremental builds
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even across package boundaries.
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[samurai]: https://github.com/michaelforney/samurai
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[Lua scripts]: https://github.com/oasislinux/oasis/blob/master/pkg/nasm/gen.lua
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* Minimal bootstrap dependencies.
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Any POSIX system with git, lua, curl, a sha256 utility, standard
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compression utilities, and an `x86_64-linux-musl` cross compiler
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can be used to bootstrap oasis. This makes it trivial to cross-compile,
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even from non-Linux systems such as macOS or OpenBSD.
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* BearSSL is the system TLS and crypto library.
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BearSSL is incredibly small and well written, but is not widely
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adopted. Through the use of libcurl, which now has native BearSSL
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support, and [libtls-bearssl], an alternative implementation of
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libtls based on BearSSL, oasis uses BearSSL throughout the system.
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Only a [few optional packages] still require LibreSSL.
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[libtls-bearssl]: https://sr.ht/~mcf/libtls-bearssl
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[few optional packages]: https://github.com/oasislinux/oasis/issues/14
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* No package manager.
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Instead, you configure a set of [specifications] of what files from
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which packages to include on your system, and the build system
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writes the resulting filesystem tree into a git repository. This
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can then be merged into `/`, or pulled from another machine.
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[specifications]: https://github.com/oasislinux/oasis/blob/master/config.def.lua#L16-L28
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* Integrates well with OS-agnostic package systems.
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Although the aim is to provide a complete system, there is a lot
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of free software out there, a lot of which does not match up well
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to our goals. Rather than trying to build and maintain yet another
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repository with thousands of packages, oasis works well with [pkgsrc]
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and [nix]. This makes it easy to extend your system with software
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you might need, while keeping the base system small and focused.
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[pkgsrc]: https://github.com/oasislinux/oasis/wiki/pkgsrc
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[nix]: https://nixos.org/nix
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* Extremely simple system configuration.
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A guiding principle is that the `/etc` directory should be simple
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enough for system administrators to understand completely and
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customize appropriately. The most complex file in the default
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configuration is the system initialization script, [`/etc/rc.init`],
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at only 16 lines.
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[`/etc/rc.init`]: https://github.com/oasislinux/etc/blob/master/rc.init
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* Mostly ISO C conformant.
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A major goal of oasis is to build with [cproc], a C compiler which
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is much stricter about the ISO C standard than gcc or clang, and
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orders of magnitude smaller. Although this is a [work-in-progress
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effort], all core packages, and most others, build successfully
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with cproc.
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[cproc]: https://sr.ht/~mcf/cproc
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[work-in-progress effort]: https://github.com/oasislinux/oasis/issues/13
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## Principles
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* Software complexity should be measured by including all transitive
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dependencies.
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* Executables should be linked statically.
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* Software components should allow for easy customization and/or
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modification.
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* Package sources should be referenced through a URL or git submodule,
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but not included directly.
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* `/etc` should be simple enough to be understood in its entirety.
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* Patches should be well organized, have good descriptions, and
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should always apply cleanly.
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## Install
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An install guide can be found on the [wiki].
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However, keep in mind that oasis is an ambitious project, and there
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is still a lot of work to do. Users should be comfortable building
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their own kernel and tinkering with their system when things go wrong.
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If you do run into trouble, I'm always happy to help you out.
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[wiki]: https://github.com/michaelforney/oasis/wiki
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## QEMU
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If you'd like to give oasis a try without installing it yourself,
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there is a QEMU image available [here][qemu-image].
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Inside the archive are the root filesystem, a Linux kernel, and a
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script to launch qemu. There is also `README.md` with some information
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about how to use it. In short, use `./run` to launch in graphical
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mode, and `./run -s` to launch in serial mode.
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[qemu-image]: https://s3.sr.ht/builds.sr.ht/artifacts/~mcf/1138649/ff314f9e1f24ce4f/oasis-qemu.tar.xz
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## Software
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oasis uses smaller and simpler implementations of libraries and
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tools whenever possible:
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- musl instead of glibc
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- sbase instead of coreutils
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- ubase instead of util-linux
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- pigz instead of gzip
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- mandoc instead of man-db
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- bearssl instead of openssl
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- oksh instead of bash
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- sdhcp instead of dhclient or dhcpcd
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- vis instead of vim or emacs
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- byacc instead of bison
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- perp and sinit instead of sysvinit or systemd
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- netsurf instead of chromium or firefox
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- samurai instead of ninja
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- velox instead of Xorg
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- netbsd-curses instead of ncurses
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These packages are grouped into logical [sets], and the full list
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is available in the [pkg] directory.
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If your favorite software is missing, keep in mind that you can
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likely still install it via pkgsrc or nix.
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[sets]: https://github.com/oasislinux/oasis/blob/master/sets.lua
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[pkg]: https://github.com/oasislinux/oasis/blob/master/pkg
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## Screenshot
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People like screenshots, so here's one of oasis:
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## Contact
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There is a mailing list at
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[~mcf/oasis@lists.sr.ht](mailto:~mcf/oasis@lists.sr.ht), and an IRC
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channel at #oasis on [libera.chat](ircs://irc.libera.chat:6697).
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Feel free to use them for questions, patches, or general discussion.
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