[Discuss] systemd sucks and containers suck and language-specific package repos suck

Kent Borg kentborg at borg.org
Wed Sep 9 13:38:48 EDT 2026


On 9/9/26 10:08 AM, Dan Ritter wrote:
> VM images as deployment mechanisms are the direct descendant of
> "it works on my laptop... let's put my laptop in the rack".
>
> Containers have the benefit of sometimes being a little smaller,
> but still have the same smell. It's too hard to do it right

Containers are a great way (are an easy way!) of composing lots of 
software packages, in a repeatable way, without going through library 
hell, and without breaking the host OS. Win, win, win, win.

They are also efficient in that the container can use the host OS for 
much of its work. Little containers can be quite little.

Great!

Except they are also an easy way to build bigger and bigger containers, 
and more and more of them. Because RAM and disk space is all infinite 
and free. I think that is at the root of smells that bother me.


-kb, the Kent who is under the old fashioned delusion that RAM and disk 
space are not infinite and free.



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