5 ms·

The Raspberry Pis are hostile towards non-Linux systems.

by 1500100900 5y ago

heinternets 5y ago
How so?
- burnte 5y ago
  They were designed to run Linux to be cheap so other OSes need drivers.
- Sirened 5y ago
  A lot of the hardware on the board has vendor support in Linux and only Linux. Vendors will write drivers and upstream them to Linux and then just call it a day. You can't get the manuals for those components except under NDA, which makes open source development for non-Linux operating systems a huge pain in the ass.
freedomben 5y ago
Yeah they're even borderline hostile to non raspbian systems. When a new Pi comes out it usually only works for raspbian for quite some time until others put in the work of getting the right stuff together for other distros. I love raspberry pi but they are definitely not as "open" and drop-in compatible as most people think. That seems to be a problem with most ARM devices, so may not be specific or the fault of the Pi people.
- stjohnswarts 5y ago
  I mean do they have the manpower to keep up with 12 different distros? Don't they opensource everything they do so other distro users can figure it out?
  - kasabali 4y ago
    I assume parent isn't talking about creating SD card images for 12 different distros, but rather working with upstream developers so more stuff is mainlined earlier thus being useful to everybody.
- hhh 5y ago
  Non-debian would be better, no? Never had an issue with Ubuntu.
  - duskwuff 5y ago
    Ubuntu is very closely related to Debian. I'm not sure I'd count it as a "different distribution" so much as "a weird variant of Debian".
    - OJFord 5y ago
      Yes but Raspbian is also 'a weird variant of Debian' by that line right? I think you're in agreement with GP; I find a similar thing coming up with Arch & Manjaro (an Arch derivative) - for almost any purpose when someone says 'Arch' it applied to Manjaro too (just less often vice versa). So, yes, 'non-Debian' which (Debian) includes Raspbian, not 'non-Raspbian' which (Raspbian) precludes Debian.
      - freedomben 5y ago
        Yeah I agree, I consider Raspbian "a weird variant of Debian." They add a bunch of packages (some that override upstream debian) and they have some custom software, plus a lot of other customization. Raspbian is probably closer to Debian than Ubuntu is, but it's still quite clear that you're not on Debian.
        pabs3 5y ago
        Raspian, RaspberryPi OS, Ubuntu etc are all known as derivatives of Debian, since they are directly or indirectly derived from Debian. https://www.debian.org/derivatives/ https://www.debian.org/derivatives/ https://wiki.debian.org/Derivatives https://wiki.debian.org/Derivatives
    - Maursault 5y ago
      Ubuntu is Debian (architecturally), plus the stuff Ubuntu added, so I believe the latter is more practically accurate.

The Raspberry Pis are hostile towards non-Linux systems.

heinternets 5y ago

How so?

burnte 5y ago
They were designed to run Linux to be cheap so other OSes need drivers.
Sirened 5y ago
A lot of the hardware on the board has vendor support in Linux and only Linux. Vendors will write drivers and upstream them to Linux and then just call it a day. You can't get the manuals for those components except under NDA, which makes open source development for non-Linux operating systems a huge pain in the ass.

freedomben 5y ago

Yeah they're even borderline hostile to non raspbian systems. When a new Pi comes out it usually only works for raspbian for quite some time until others put in the work of getting the right stuff together for other distros. I love raspberry pi but they are definitely not as "open" and drop-in compatible as most people think. That seems to be a problem with most ARM devices, so may not be specific or the fault of the Pi people.

stjohnswarts 5y ago
I mean do they have the manpower to keep up with 12 different distros? Don't they opensource everything they do so other distro users can figure it out?
- kasabali 4y ago
  I assume parent isn't talking about creating SD card images for 12 different distros, but rather working with upstream developers so more stuff is mainlined earlier thus being useful to everybody.
hhh 5y ago
Non-debian would be better, no? Never had an issue with Ubuntu.
- duskwuff 5y ago
  Ubuntu is very closely related to Debian. I'm not sure I'd count it as a "different distribution" so much as "a weird variant of Debian".
  - OJFord 5y ago
    Yes but Raspbian is also 'a weird variant of Debian' by that line right? I think you're in agreement with GP; I find a similar thing coming up with Arch & Manjaro (an Arch derivative) - for almost any purpose when someone says 'Arch' it applied to Manjaro too (just less often vice versa). So, yes, 'non-Debian' which (Debian) includes Raspbian, not 'non-Raspbian' which (Raspbian) precludes Debian.
    - freedomben 5y ago
      Yeah I agree, I consider Raspbian "a weird variant of Debian." They add a bunch of packages (some that override upstream debian) and they have some custom software, plus a lot of other customization. Raspbian is probably closer to Debian than Ubuntu is, but it's still quite clear that you're not on Debian.
      - pabs3 5y ago
        Raspian, RaspberryPi OS, Ubuntu etc are all known as derivatives of Debian, since they are directly or indirectly derived from Debian. https://www.debian.org/derivatives/ https://www.debian.org/derivatives/ https://wiki.debian.org/Derivatives https://wiki.debian.org/Derivatives
  - Maursault 5y ago
    Ubuntu is Debian (architecturally), plus the stuff Ubuntu added, so I believe the latter is more practically accurate.