siduction strives to be 100% compatible with Debian Sid. Nevertheless, siduction may provide packages that temporarily replace buggy Debian packages. The siduction apt repository contains siduction specific packages like the siduction kernel, scripts, packages we would like to push to Debian, utilities, and documentation.
Some chapters of the manual are essential reading for users who are new to Linux or new to siduction. In addition to this brief introduction, these are:
Terminal/Console
- describes how to use a terminal and the su
command.
Partitioning the hard disk - describes how to partition a hard disk.
Downloading siduction ISO - describes how to download and check a siduction ISO file.
ISO to USB stick - memory card - Describes how to create a siduction life media.
Installation on a hard disk - describes how to install siduction onto a hard disk.
Non-free drivers, firmware, and sources - describes how software sources can be adapted and non-free firmwares can be installed.
Internet connection - describes how to connect to the Internet.
Package Manager and System Update - describes how to install new software and update the system.
‘Sid’ is the name of Debian’s unstable repository. Debian Sid is regularly updated with new software packages, which means that this Debian distribution contains the latest versions of the respective programs in a very timely manner. However, this also means that there is less time between a release in the upstream (by the software developers) and the distribution in Debian Sid to test the packages.
The Linux kernel of siduction is optimized to achieve the following goals: problem solving, enhanced and updated features, performance optimization, higher stability. The basis is always the latest kernel from http://www.kernel.org/.
siduction follows Debian rules regarding package structure and uses
apt as well as dpkg for software package
management. The Debian and siduction repositories are located in
/etc/sources.list.d/*.
Debian siduction contains more than 20,000 program packages, so the
chances of finding a program suitable for a task are very good.
Information on how to search for program packages can be found
here:
Search
program packages .
A program package is installed with this command:
apt install <package_name>See also: Install new packages.
New and updated software packages are pushed to Debian Sid Repositories four times a day. Quick package management is achieved by using a local database. The command
apt updateis necessary before each installation of a new software package to synchronize the local database with the repositories’ software supply.
The use of other Debian based repositories, sources, and
RPMs.
Installations from source code are not supported. It is recommended to
compile as user (not root) and to place the application in the home
directory without installing it onto the system. The use of
checkinstall to generate DEB packages should be limited to
purely private use. Conversion programs for RPM packages like
alien are not recommended either.
Other well-known (and lesser-known) Debian based distributions create new packages with a structure different from Debian. They often use other directories for programs, scripts, and files during installation, which can lead to unstable systems. Some packages cannot be installed at all because of unresolvable dependencies, different naming conventions, or different versioning. For example, a different version of glibc may result in the inability to execute any program at all.
For this reason, Debian’s repositories should be used to install the required software packages. Other software sources may be difficult or impossible to support by siduction. This includes packages and PPAs from Ubuntu.
An upgrade can only be performed when X graphics server is stopped. To stop the graphics server, the following command can be entered into a console as root:
init 3After that, system updates can be performed safely. First, refresh the local package database with
apt updateThen update the system with one of the two alternatives
apt upgrade
apt full-upgradeAfterwards, start the graphical user interface with the following command:
init 5apt full-upgrade is the recommended procedure to
upgrade a siduction installation to the latest version. It is described
in more detail here:
Updating an
installed system - full-upgrade.
The Networkmanager integrated in all graphical
interfaces of siduction offers a quick configuration of network cards
(Ethernet and wireless). It is mostly self-explanatory. In the terminal,
the script nmcli provides access to the netwokmanagers
functionality.
Wireless networks are scanned. You can connect to the networks found and
make settings for the encryption method, the IPv4 or IPv6 Internet
protocol, and a proxy server. The backend is iwd. Ethernet
configuration is done automatically when using a DHCP server on the
router (dynamic assignment of an IP address), but manual setup (from
netmasks to nameservers) is also possible with this script.
In the graphical user interface, the network manager is located in
the taskbar.
The start command in the console is nmcli
or nmtui . If the script is not available,
install it with:
apt install network-managerMore information at network - nmcli
Intel’s iNet wireless daemon (iwd) is sending the WPA supplicant into well-deserved retirement. Only one tenth as big and much faster, iwd will be the successor. In rare cases, connections are lost with iwd. It is then advisable to return to the WPA supplicant.
By default, siduction boots into the graphical user interface (except
NoX).
Configuration of runlevels is described in the chapter siduction
runlevels - target unit.
Plasma, Gnome, Xfce, LXQt, Cinnamon, and Xorg are shipped by siduction.
Help is always available in IRC or in the siduction forum.
Read more in the chapter Where to get help.
With this link you can call the IRC immediately in your browser: enter a freely chosen nickname and join the channel #siduction-en.