Linux

Sometimes several processes can call the same function at once, even though its logic is completely unsuited to that. One worker changes the password for an external system, another does exactly the same thing, and a third is trying to log in. Everyone meant well, but now nobody knows the current password XD. A similar problem comes up when refreshing shared data, generating the same report, or modifying a file. If these operations get in each other’s way, we get a classic race condition: a race where the winner sometimes turns out to be an error message. ...

What an adventure it has been 🤠 It all started with yet another attempt to configure NixOS as a replacement for Debian, which I use every day. I really like the idea behind NixOS: declarative configuration of the entire system and the ability to reproduce an environment both sound great. Unfortunately, in practice, it turned out to be much harder than I had expected. I find the Nix language completely unintuitive, the documentation can be maddening at times, and conflicting advice on best practices is scattered all over the internet. Or maybe I am just not smart enough to figure it out? Hard to say XD. In any case, after what was probably my third failed attempt to configure NixOS, I started looking for an alternative. That was when I discovered bootc. ...