Itβs just files, how hard could it be π€·
this post was submitted on 27 Sep 2026
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I fucking wish
Check out dbus and notify.
And then unpack your dracut initrd.
I don't understand the dbus.
I've tried.
But I just don't get it.
Understand on what level?
The basic idea is that dbus is a type of communication layer and api.
Services can register there and programs see their registrations.
dbus can in theory then launch a service too, so things don't have to run all the time.
The idea is similar to having some known config file, that programs write to and that a service listens on or uses later. But dbus has more granularity.
It also often runs the other way, with system components presenting info in dbus and programs using it, to adapt to user configuration.
And let's not even get into udev.
Point here is that dbus could be implemented via a command and an sqlite database for example. The command checks the database and constructs the dbus state from it.
But for likely performance reasons it isn't, so this info is simply hidden in dbus, in ram, instead of being a file.
You can access dbus via a socket file ofc, but it's not like you can mount it.
Even more confusingly, the internal ephemeral dbus structure with its apis and endpoints resembles a filesystem. In that way it is similar to the w!ndows registry, though not nearly as bad.
so yeah dbus is most definitely not files
edit: also there's multiple dbusses, usually one per user and one for the system. Those two hold different apis and info. It's just the same thing twice tho.
All those levels.
I mean what do you wanna know?
What's your concrete question, or how did you get confused by dbus?
I'm being facetious
Your comment was actually very thorough and helpful.
That killed a Plan9 (and 9front) fan.
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20 years this year and I still am not sure how it is supposed to be pronounced (in english)
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24 years exclusively running it.
Short answer: magic.
Long answer: a stressful full week trying to get everything right, followed by a long, blissful period forgetting how hard it was to get it up and running like magic.
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When Linux is working, one does not tempt fate by asking why.
One does not ask how the Linux is working, one only asks if.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know a damn thing.
I don't know shit about Linux. I just know it's fast and not Microsoft.
As someone who uses Linux every day for work, I don't know how to fix shit. I'm not paid to troubleshoot
πββοΈ: "How does Linux work?"
π¨βπ»: "...does it?"
But seriously - if you do want to see the inner workings, perform a Gentoo stage 2 to dip your toes in. LFS after if youβre feeling dangerous. Then things will start to come together. But maybe do it on a spare machineβ¦ You can/will break things and you will need a fallback to do research. Donβt bother if you donβt care to read manuals, itβs not easy and can be frustrating.
I've been working with Linux since 1.1.98, I think, 1.2.13 for sure. That's probably 32 years.
I've built kernels for enterprise distribution as part of a build group. I've worked to secure our distribution. I've led the security response team.
I've never run gentoo.
You think I should ?
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I once tried Gentoo stage 1 because I felt bad ass and failed miserably. However that also taught me a lot.
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Proud Gentoo user for the past 12ish years and this is the first I've heard of "stage 1" and "stage 2". This explains the number for stage 3 I guess lol. Even with stage 3, and having dealt with gentoo (still my daily driver to date), I think I've learned more than I would have with many other distros.
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It takes the raw code, bakes it at 450Β°F for 90 minutes, then does some magic.
Communist nerds decided that computer programs should be free, so they made free computer programs for you. It's better than corpo slop because all the most passionate nerds are sharing their code with each other, and judging every other nerd's code.
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The more you know about computers the more you realize its just magic rocks, and that magic, rocks.
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... And there are a lot more of those random guys around now.
Statistically yes, but also you're noticing a lot more because Lemmy creates those guys. Source: random guy. (Although I'm actually the low end "who the fuck knows" on the IQ chart version of this meme.)
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What I tell people: "When you get used to using an operating system that respects your rights, you don't wanna go back."
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Under the hood there is this thing in there called "systemd" that does a pretty good job making Linux work, and has made some people happy and some other people unhappy.
Before systemd there was something called "init" or maybe "system v" that wasn't as good at systemd, especially not at restarting things if there was a problem, but it was real fast and less complicated.
This is not part of the Linux kernel though, i have no idea how that works.
Can i be dewey, but with the glasses?
Closeβa few other people use a different init system to be extra niche. There are tens of us! Tens!
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We don't ask that question here
I was unaware ifconfig was no longer a thing a little while back. boy oh boy did it take a long time to troubleshoot.
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It's like asking "How does toilet paper work?" Meaning to say you don't have to know all the details about how it comes to be but can just use it and appreciate it does work. And you also know it would be really messy and with poor hygiene without.
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I'm at the point where I struggle to explain to newbies how to do things, so I'm always glad that other newbies do it. π₯΄
I took an operating system class in college that involved basicly creating a baby OS. Lot of fun.
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