> Also, it is Debian-based. It uses the `apt` package manager which is slow. Some people may prefer something faster and more modern, like `pacman` or `dnf`.
Do people really care if it takes 5 seconds to parse a package index vs 1? I don't get this argument at all.
Yes, you are right. There is one more abstraction layer.
Home Assistant Operating System uses Buildroot which uses Docker to run container with Home Assistant Supervisor. And only that container is Debian-based [0].
A couple weeks ago I powered a laptop that had been sitting unused for several months. It had Ubuntu 22.04 installed. The initial `apt-get update` took some time to download new indexes, and almost 3 minutes to process them all afterwards, while I was right there staring at the screen wondering why I was there staring at the screen for so long, because this experience always happens as soon as any of my machines stay off for more than a couple weeks. apt is indeed very slow.
I just installed python3 on Debian and Alpine. It takes 16s vs 4s (I ran the test three times, and kept the fastest measurement for Debian and the slowest measurement for Alpine).
Sure a one-time wait of 12s doesn't change my life. But I won't use apt/apk _once_; I'll use it every single time that I install something. It low-key bothers me when my flow is interrupted by having to wait for machines to do their job, increasing that by 300% doesn't help.
This wouldn't be a deciding factor for me. But it doesn't add points for the Debian-based approach.
Do people really care if it takes 5 seconds to parse a package index vs 1? I don't get this argument at all.