Arch Linux

GuyNamedRob

Member

Registered: 2008-04-04

Posts: 15

What has happened to Linux since 2004?

Hi,

As I try to learn more about Linux, I've been working on the Linux Documentation Guides and HowTos.  If you look at that site however, only a few works have been updated since 2004.  This is somewhat visible on other sites and google searches I've made.  Man pages and drivers often seem to date back to this 2004-2005 period too.

So my question is, what do you think has happened to Linux since late 2004?  What changed that could lead to this seeming abandonment of manual writing and/or development of tools, drivers, etc?  Is Ubuntu adoption focusing or just killing the creativity of Linux?  Or is it just that wikis for each writer's distro has consumed their efforts?  Did Linux "mature"?  I'm curious what you think.  Am I off base, or did trends shift in late 2004?

inf

Member

From: Vantaa, Finland

Registered: 2006-07-18

Posts: 102

Website

Re: What has happened to Linux since 2004?

I guess it is just that LDG is dead.

There is lot of new Linux articles coming everyday and also wiki entrys to different wikis (Gentoo-wiki f.ex)

thorstenhirsch

Member

Registered: 2005-08-03

Posts: 111

Re: What has happened to Linux since 2004?

What's this LDG? Never heard of it before. Or do you mean tldp.org?

skymt

Member

Registered: 2006-11-27

Posts: 443

Re: What has happened to Linux since 2004?

There's no longer as large a need for centralized documentation. Most projects document themselves. For those who don't, a Google search will usually turn up a blog post by someone who figured it out. Also, a lot of the TLDP work on howtos was taken over by distro wikis who can give examples correct for that distro (unlike TLDP, which was usually Debian- or RH-centric).

Misfit138

Misfit Emeritus

From: USA

Registered: 2006-11-27

Posts: 4,189

Re: What has happened to Linux since 2004?

Intriguing question and thread!
I have wondered myself why most manpages and docs date back to 2003-2004. Interesting replies too.
It does seem to be true that the fragmentation and shear number of distributions logically spread out the documentation over each project's own wiki. (Some are better than others)
(Arch's own wiki has improved vastly, IMO, and I encourage all to contribute to it feverishly!)
Distributions have grown ever more idiosyncratic and esoteric; each one has so many unique details, from file system layout, to init scripts and package management.
All distros basically share the ability to run the same software, all (to my knowledge) use BASH, all use the Linux kernel, all use the GNU toolchain, but beyond this, documentation invariably must trickle down to the distributions' own methods of implementation. This is probably a significant contributing factor..

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