Debate Init System To Use
This is a debate in the Essay Debating System about which init system Debian should choose as default. The tech-ctte has been invoked to decide on this topic, and asked for the different positions to be concisely summarized in debate pages.
Current Options
(These options are not in any particular order)
sysvinit (status quo)
- One system on Linux, something else on non-linux
multiple: commit to supporting two or more specific initsystems, such that choosing a default is less important, and at least one of them is available to every arch
Summary Table
Option / Question |
||||
Hurd support status |
Full |
Theoretically possible, huge work, would have to be Debian-specific at first |
Theoretically possible, huge work |
Should be easy |
kFreeBSD support status |
Full |
Doesn’t sound realistic |
Theoretically possible, huge work |
Y |
sysvinit files compatibility |
Y |
Y |
Partial |
Y |
Service file format |
SysV |
unit (ini-like) |
job (specific) |
Runscripts |
Socket activation support |
N |
Y |
Partial |
N |
D-Bus activation support |
N |
Y + kdbus |
? |
N |
logind interface |
N |
Y |
Ubuntu patches ? |
Reimplementation in progress (by whom?) |
Reliable service/session shutdown |
N |
Y |
N |
Linux only |
Service monitoring |
N |
Y |
Y |
Upstream working on using s6 for that |
Open Questions
(These questions are not in any particular order)
- Transition plan
- Support for Hurd/kFreeBSD
- Support for init.d scripts
- Support for other systems
- ????