dragora-handbook/en/dragora-handbook-content.texi

@c -*-texinfo-*-
@c dragora-handbook-content.texi
@c This is part of the Dragora Handbook.
@c Copyright (C) 2020-2024 The Dragora Team.
@c See the file dragora-handbook-header.texi for copying conditions.

@node About this handbook
@chapter About this handbook
@cindex about this handbook

TODO (Add intro + versioning scheme paragraph).

@section Typographic conventions
@cindex typographic conventions

TODO (appendix).

@node Revision history (ChangeLog)
@unnumbered Revision history (ChangeLog)
@cindex revision history (changelog)

TODO (appendix).

@node What is Dragora?
@chapter What is Dragora?
@cindex what is dragora?

@strong{Dragora} is an independent GNU/Linux distribution project which
was created from scratch with the intention of providing a reliable
operating system with maximum respect for the user by including entirely
free software.  @strong{Dragora} is based on the concepts of simplicity
and elegance, it offers a user-friendly Unix-like environment with
emphasis on stability and security for long-term durability.

To put it in a nutshell, @strong{Dragora} is...
@itemize @bullet
@item Minimalist.
@item Free as in freedom.
@item Getting better by the day.
@item A whole lot of fun (not suitable for old vinegars).
@end itemize

Some of the features of Dragora are:

@itemize @bullet
@item SysV init as the classic, documented initialization program (PID 1).
@item Perp to reliably start, monitor, log and control "critical" system daemons.
@item Lightweight alternatives to popular free software; i.e, musl libc, libressl,
      mksh, scron, pkgconf.
@item The Trinity Desktop Environment (TDE).
@item Window managers such as TWM, DWM.
@item Graft for managing multiple packages under a single directory hierarchy
      using symbolic links mechanisms.
@item Qi as a simple local package manager that complements Graft to create,
      install, remove and upgrade software packages.
@end itemize

@section Free software
@cindex free software

TODO.

@section GNU
@cindex gnu

TODO.

@section Linux and Linux-libre
@cindex linux or linux-libre

TODO.

@node Why should I use Dragora?
@chapter Why should I use Dragora?
@cindex why should I use dragora?

We cannot and do not intend to decide for you, we can only cite what we
believe to be Dragora's main strengths:

@itemize @bullet
@item @strong{Independent}:
As mentioned before, Dragora is an independent project, this means that it
is based on a voluntary basis where one or more people share the same
direction or intentions for the sake of the project and in benefit of the
free software community.  But above all, it is
not a purely commercial project or one that is made by a company, where they
have commercial interests, and where many times they will do anything to
catch you and see your face for their selfish business.


@item @strong{Simple:} The underlying concept of Dragora's design philosophy is
simplicity: KISS, "Keep It Simple, Stupid!". This principle, which derives
from what is known as "Ockham's razor," was developed by the first modern
critical philosopher: William of Ockham. We believe this concept represents
the traditional UNIX philosophy - so we don't add functionality
unnecessarily, nor do we duplicate information.

@item @strong{Ethical:} We try to ensure that the included software is
completely free and allows you to legally run, copy, distribute, study,
change and improve the software.

@item @strong{Language:} Native support.

@item @strong{Community:} Dragora is not a closed project. On the contrary, anyone
person with good intentions is welcome - and encouraged! - to join and help.
@end itemize

@node History
@chapter History
@cindex history

Development of Dragora started in 2007 by Matias Andres Fonzo from
Santiago del Estero, Argentina.  After one year of hard work, the first
beta of Dragora was released on June 13, 2008, which contained the basic
GNU toolset, boot scripts, package system, and an installer.
Whereas the intention was to achieve a 100% "free" as in freedom
GNU/Linux distribution from the beginning, this very first version was not
fully free (or libre) since all parts were free software, except for the
Linux Kernel due to blobs or non-free parts.  Fortunately, the Linux-Libre
project appears that same year, which removes or cleans the non-free parts
of the official versions of the Linux Kernel.  This led to the second beta
of Dragora on September 18, 2008; completing distribution's freedom by
replacing the Kernel, and becoming the first one available to the public.
Ongoing work to provide a more complete distribution would result in the
stable release of Dragora 1.0, achieved on March 13, 2009.  The series
ends with the massive update plus fixes and added software for version
1.1 released on October 8, 2009.

Design of this series was based on a traditional GNU/Linux scheme with
SysVinit as the init system but using BSD-style boot scripts. The package
system, the installer, the text menu-mode tools and the boot scripts were
all written using the syntax and the features offered by GNU Bash.
Initially the binary packages were provided in .tbz2 format (files
compressed with bzip2 and packaged using GNU Tar) which later migrated to
the .tlz format (files compressed with lzip for a higher compression plus
very safe integrity checking).  Dragora's installer offered the option of
several languages (translations produced by the community) to choose
between English, Galician, Italian, and Spanish.  A second CD included the
packages for the K Desktop Environment (KDE) 3 series.

@section Releases
@cindex releases

Below are the dates and code names used for all the Dragora releases:

@itemize @bullet
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 1.0 Beta 1:} June 13th, 2008 - "hell".}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 1.0 Beta 2:} September 18th, 2008.}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 1.0 Release Candidate 1:} February 12th, 2009.}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 1.0 Stable:} March 13th, 2009 - "starlight".}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 1.1 Release Candidate 1:} August 25th, 2009.}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 1.1 Stable:} October 8th, 2009 - "stargazer".}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 2.0 Release Candidate 1:} January 24th, 2010.}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 2.0 Release Candidate 2:} March 28th, 2010.}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 2.0 Stable:} April 13th, 2010 - "ardi".}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 2.1 Release Candidate 1:} December 4th, 2010.}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 2.1 Stable:} December 31st, 2010 - "dio".}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 2.2 Release Candidate 1:} March 2nd, 2012.}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 2.2 Stable:} April 21st, 2012 - "rafaela".}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 3.0 Alpha 1:} December 31st, 2017.}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 3.0 Alpha 2:} September 28th, 2018.}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 3.0 Beta 1:} October 16th, 2019.}
@item @emph{@strong{Dragora 3.0 Beta 2:} April 26th, 2023.}
@end itemize

@node Maintainers
@chapter Maintainers
@cindex maintainers

TODO.

@node A quick glance at Dragora
@chapter A quick glance at Dragora
@cindex a quick glance at dragora

TODO.

@node Boot options from live medium
@chapter Boot options from live medium
@cindex boot options from live medium

TODO.

@node Using dragora-installer
@chapter Using dragora-installer
@cindex using dragora-installer

TODO.

@node Installing the system manually (as an alternative)
@chapter Installing the system manually (as an alternative)
@cindex installing the system manually (as an alternative)

TODO.

@node Introduction to package management in Dragora
@chapter Introduction to package management in Dragora
@cindex package management in dragora

TODO.

@node Package management in a nutshell
@chapter Package management in a nutshell
@cindex package management in a nutshell

TODO.

@node Using third-party free software
@unnumbered Using third-party free software
@cindex using third-party free software

TODO (appendix).

@include qi-content.texi

@node Getting support
@chapter Getting support
@cindex getting support

Dragora's home page can be found at @uref{https://www.dragora.org}.
@tie{}Bug reports or suggestions can be sent to @email{dragora-users@@nongnu.org}.

@node Contributing to Dragora
@chapter Contributing to Dragora
@cindex contributing to dragora

TODO (introductory text here).

@section How to place a mirror
@cindex how to place a mirror

If there's no Dragora mirror near you, you're welcome to contribute one.

First, for users or downloaders, the address @emph{rsync://rsync.dragora.org/}
contains ISO images and source code (in various formats) taken from the
original sites and distributed by Dragora.

Mirroring the Dragora server requires approximately 13GB of disk space (as
of January 2022).  You can hit rsync directly from @emph{rsync.dragora.org} as:

@code{rsync -rltpHS --delete-excluded rsync://rsync.dragora.org/dragora /your/dir/}

Also, consider mirroring from another site in order to reduce load on the
Dragora server.  The listed sites at
@url{https://www.dragora.org/en/get/mirrors/index.html} provide access to all
the material on rsync.dragora.org.  They update from us nightly (at least),
and you may access them via rsync with the same options as above.

Note:

We keep a file called "timestamp" under the main tree after each
synchronization.  This file can be used to verify, instead of synchronizing
all the content at once, you can check if this file has been updated and
then continue with the full synchronization.