[colug-432] GoboLinux

[Steve VanSlyck]

This does sound interesting (from 
http://gobolinux.org/index.php?page=at_a_glance ) :

What is GoboLinux?
GoboLinux is a modular Linux distribution: it organizes the programs in 
your system in a new, logical way. Instead of having parts of a program 
thrown at /usr/bin, other parts at /etc and yet more parts thrown at 
/usr/share/something/or/another, each program gets its own directory 
tree, keeping them all neatly separated and allowing you to see 
everything that's installed in the system and which files belong to which 
programs in a simple and obvious way.

This is what you see in the root of a GoboLinux system:

~] cd /
/] ls
Programs
Users
System
Files
Mount
Depot

* * * 

How can this possibly work?
Just like we use the filesystem to store the programs in an organized way, 
we also use it to index the files by category so that the system can find 
a needed file without scanning hundreds of program entries. In GoboLinux, 
this is done with a series of directories containing symbolic links 
pointing to the actual files. Notice also how this gives you a handy view 
of "what package does file XYZ belong to."

* * *

But what about Unix compatibility?

The GoboLinux system layout seems to be a major departure from the Unix 
tradition. Does this mean all programs need to adjusted so that they work 
with the new layout? Fortunately, the answer is no. Through a mapping of 
traditional paths into their GoboLinux counterparts, we transparently 
retain compatibility with the Unix legacy.

* * *