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this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2023
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Linux
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Why would you need multiple distros at the same time?
Think of it as multiple user lands on one distro. So, why?
What if I really love the stability and familiarity of Debian Stable but applications that are either ancient versions or totally missing in Debian? Well, I could use Distrobox on Debian to get access to the Arch Linux repositories ( the largest collection of Linux software anywhere ).
What if I do not want to install huge Flatpaks for the above and prefer more traditional package management and more timely updates?
What if I want to setup a dev or test environment, want to be able to make a mess and remove it later, not also want access to my other tools and files from that environment?
What if i want to experience other package managers and userlands without having to lose my existing system only to discover I do not like it?
What if I want to build software for a specific disto and want to access files and tools on my main distribution to do so?
I am sure there are many, many more reasons.
Anyway, it is just one way to do things with pros and cons like anything else. Personally, I really like it.
Can run yourmain distro as a stable one, but have an unstable or testing version in a Distrobox container sout does not mess your main install.
If you have non Arch distro, you could run Arch in Distrobox and get to use all the AUR packages.
One use case I had was I wanted to use STM32 Cube IDE, but it has a dependency on python 2.7 I think it was. I had some trouble installing it on my main OS, but I was able to get it to work on Ubuntu 22.04 running in a Distrobox.