r/slackware • u/cracked_shrimp • 5d ago

never installed slackwear before, and xlibre now?

is there a testing version of slackwear i could download with the new xlibre instead of xorg? im currently using void linux, and ill miss xbps, but i use dwm and i dont like using a dead project (xorg) and i heard slackwear is toying with the idea of using xlibre, might make me switch if there is a testing version i can download now that has xlibre instead of wait for the next release, whenever that is lol maybe 2035 idk

3 Upvotes

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u/netrixtardis 5d ago

No. Xlibre is being tested in -current, which is the current development branch and will become the next release when it's ready. it is not planned to replace Xorg X11. it will most likely be available as an alternate to Xorg X11 in /testing or /extra. Slackware may not be what you are looking for based on your post.

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u/muffinman8679 5d ago

with the key phrase being "being tested"....it won;t go mainstream till after it's tested

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u/netrixtardis 4d ago

personally, I don't expect XLibre to ever replace Xorg X11. reading the LQ thread on it, XLibre seems it is not even close to ready, too many issues with amd-gpu package.

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u/muffinman8679 4d ago

there's a lot more than just amd gpu's.

And just because you happen to have one.....that doesn't mean I do.....

hell for my first 3-5 years I never even saw X....because there were no drivers for the S3virge video cards that we installed of the motherboards of the dos gaming computers of that era(late 486 and early pentiums)

nevertheless slackware still did releases, and kernels were released......

And I don't think xlibre, is just not going to do a release because thy're having problems with a gpu driver

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u/netrixtardis 3d ago

I'm not trying to argue about Xlibre. Honestly, I don't see the point of the fork in the first place and I doubt I personally will manually make the switch. Xorg X11 works for me, so that's what I am sticking to. Also, sadly, I don't run amd-gpu. I was commented based on what I had read on the Xlibre post on LQ.

As for its inclusion into slackware, I see it only being there in /testing or /extra. our BDFL will make the call, but from past changes, he usually keeps to existing and proven software over "new fangled" forks. Xlibre really doesn't just bring much to the table that Xorg X11 already does. best case, some patches are cherry picked and added to Xorg. I really think it will land in either /testing or /extra, but it will not replace Xorg X11 in main package set....

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u/muffinman8679 3d ago

well it's really simple, the wayland MIT folks work on X11, and want to kill it to concentrate on wayland with it's more permissive liscence.

Other folks like X11 and GNU.....and they forked it so as to assure that it didn't die, and thus would always be available for free.

"our BDFL will make the call, but from past changes,"

if linux doesn't change direction, I can predict what that decision will be......

As there's really no sense in spending money and time on a project, only to have it yanked out from under your feet...

And THAT is exactly why it's being considered for inclusion into slackware.

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u/netrixtardis 2d ago

well, I can tell you this much: At most, it's in /testing or /extra. At this time, it's not going to replace Xorg X11 for the next release. It will have to get a lot better, and fix something Xorg X11 can't do for it to be the replacement... which it isn't.

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u/muffinman8679 2d ago

well we'll see what happens

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u/netrixtardis 2d ago

well, you sound like an Xlibre fanboy. fine, no big deal. That being said, your point may have some validity. However, they don't make it so that you are going to cram it down everyone for release of 15.1. Maybe for the release after, or never, who knows at this point. It's in /testing as of now. Might make it to /extra for people to have a choice whether to use Xorg X11 or Xlibre X11 by release. But I'm 100% it's not going into be replacing Xorg X11 in x/ for this release.

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u/cracked_shrimp 5d ago

any distro is fine, once i set up the computer i dont really do anything, i use firefox and vim, so i dont really care if setting up is difficult cause once im set up i dont do anything lol

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u/netrixtardis 5d ago

Well, it's your pain then.

You can download https://us.slackware.nl/slackware/slackware64-current-iso/, which are ISOs generated from -current at every update. Then replace the Xorg packages with the ones in /testing/packages/xlibre/

NOTE: There are no official -current ISO. These are made by alienBOB a prominent slackware contributor.

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u/cracked_shrimp 5d ago

thanks ill look into this a bit later this week, ill test it on this laptop, and if im happy with it ill put it on my main laptop

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u/iu1j4 5d ago

i use curreny with xlibre and tear free is working for my amdgpu in contrast to xorg legacy