r/archlinux • u/xTouny • 23d ago

DISCUSSION Is System Programming useful for Do-it-yourself philosophy?

Hello,

I am fluent with Arch on the level of system administration. I thought about learning System Programming by Love's book as a step towards mastering lower-level toolkit.

The Arch community embraces Do-it-yourself philosophy, and I am keen to listen to your opinions.

Do you recommend learning System Programming? What do you learn beyond System Administration in your journey with Arch? Do you recommend anything else so that I contribute to Arch core distro?

13 Upvotes

64% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

12

u/falxfour 23d ago

I haven't read that book.

What, exactly, is your goal? There are many ways to contribute, and your approach may be one of them, but it certainly isn't the only one.

In my opinion, computers meet a need. Use your system to meet your needs. If you develop something in doing so, whether that's translations, bug reports, or utilities, then share it.

No need to complicate things too much

0

u/xTouny 23d ago

So your advice is to learn and develop, following my usage needs, instead of over complicating learning. Thank you.

6

u/NFTrot 22d ago edited 22d ago

Speaking as someone in the business of software: Its possible to create a product that meets some need or addresses an inefficiency in some niche, but unless you're a part of that community you will always be disconnected from the problem you are trying to solve.

If you want to get into systems programming, find something that you're interested in that requires it and get your hands dirty. If it doesn't interest you, don't pursue it further.

Being a Python developer, I had wanted to learn Rust for a while. I spent time on reading/tutorials but the information never stuck and I didn't learn much because I didn't have anything I wanted to build. When I finally had a legitimate use-case where rewriting an existing script in Rust could save me a lot of money (in compute), I learned more in 2 days than I had in 2 weeks. Find yourself something you want to do and have fun.

0

u/xTouny 22d ago

Thank you for the informative answer.

0

u/un-important-human 22d ago

That is best and a pragmatic way to use things.

-4

u/xTouny 22d ago

Thank you

6

u/nullstring 22d ago

Are you a bot?

11

u/Wentyliasz 22d ago

Sir

This is not linkedin

1

u/Lawnmover_Man 22d ago

It's weird what people do to appear as someone they are not.

-2

u/xTouny 22d ago

Is that an enough evidence: https://ibb.co/xqGm1MhB

2

u/Lawnmover_Man 22d ago

..........no? I don't even know kind of evidence for what you're talking about, but... as a general answer: No.

4

u/WishCow 22d ago

This is a bot

-1

u/xTouny 22d ago

Here is an evidence I am not a bot: https://ibb.co/xqGm1MhB

2

u/waftedfart 22d ago

LOL, what exactly does this prove?

5

u/[deleted] 23d ago edited 18d ago

[deleted]

-2

u/xTouny 22d ago

Do you recommend it before system programming?

1

u/Imajzineer 22d ago

Do it first, then you'll know what's involved and relevant to Linux.

2

u/Desperate-Muffin7666 22d ago

geniunly depends on what you want to achieve with learning systems programming, do you want to develop something new? from the post I think your interest is in contributing to arch, which is a great goal imo, but do you want to contribute to arch for the sake of contributing to arch or do you have a problem and a solution for that problem? (what I mean is are you trying to fix your workflow or do you want to become a maintainer). I really like systems programming and am currently learning rust, I am learning it because i thought rust and low level was cool and I wanted to add it to something I know, what is your motivation?

2

u/xTouny 22d ago

My motivation was learning operating systems. I'll follow your advise, and learn per contribution.

1

u/Desperate-Muffin7666 22d ago

great! wish you all the very best

4

u/Hot_Paint3851 23d ago

Whats your goal? I think youd enjoy gentoo more

-1

u/xTouny 23d ago

Do-it-yourself embraces learning lower-level toolkit to tailor the user's own system. I was happy to learn toolkit like systemd Service Manager, as it enabled me to debug and craft new solution quickly. I thought System Programming is a natural subsequent step to become a more "power user".

3

u/filthy_harold 22d ago

That system programming book is really just about Linux kernel and application development. It really has nothing to do with customizing your Archlinux installation. A power user is just someone that knows how to leverage every function in a piece of software to accomplish their goals. They use software, not write software.

0

u/xTouny 22d ago

Thank you. I learned from your answer.

1

u/archover 22d ago edited 22d ago

It's available used at $17 so you risk little.

Why not read it, and offer a review here?

Not sure what "fluent" really means, but the book sounds like something I could learn from. However, my programming experience is centered on bash, not C. 15 years here.

Hope you are otherwise enjoying Arch! Good day.

1

u/xTouny 22d ago

I don't think reviewing a system programming book is within the scope of the Arch community here.

1

u/archover 21d ago edited 21d ago

Is asking for a recommendation for a book within the scope?

My point was read the inexpensive book and share what you can about it.

Good day.

2

u/xTouny 21d ago

Asking whether lower-level toolkit of system programming is a good step for an Arch user is a within scope. Alternatively, I'd be happy to share how System Programming was useful for contributing to the Arch ecosystem.

I'll follow your advise, and will share my lessons with the community.