Arch Linux vs macOS

Overview

Arch Linux

Stacks562

Followers555

Votes108

macOS

Stacks926

Followers562

Votes6

Arch Linux vs macOS: What are the differences?

Customization: Arch Linux allows users to fully customize their system from scratch, giving them complete control over every aspect of their operating system. On the other hand, macOS follows a more closed approach, restricting users in terms of customization options and settings.
Package Management: Arch Linux uses a package manager called Pacman, which allows users to easily install, update, and manage software packages. In contrast, macOS utilizes the App Store for software installations, which may limit the availability of certain applications.
Kernel: Arch Linux uses the Linux kernel, known for its flexibility, scalability, and high performance on a variety of hardware platforms. macOS, on the other hand, uses the XNU kernel, which is specifically tailored for Apple hardware and may not offer the same level of compatibility with non-Apple devices.
User Interface: Arch Linux typically offers a minimalistic and lightweight user interface, allowing users to build their desktop environment with their preferred window manager, such as GNOME or KDE. In contrast, macOS provides a polished and intuitive user interface out of the box, designed to offer a seamless user experience for Apple users.

In Summary, Arch Linux and macOS differ in customization options, package management systems, kernel choices, and user interface designs.

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Advice on Arch Linux, macOS

Simon

Developer Advocate at k6 / Load Impact

Mar 7, 2020

Decided

At the moment of the decision, my desktop was the primary place I did work. Due to this, I can't have it blow up on me while I work. While Arch is interesting and powerful, Ubuntu offers (at least for me) a lot more stability and lets me focus on other things than maintaining my own OS installation.

299k views299k

Comments

Justin

Open Source Program Manager at Reblaze

Aug 15, 2019

Review

If you have a file (demo.txt) that has 3 columns:

Column-1    Column-2    Column-3
Row-1a      Row-2a      Row-3a         
Row-1b      Row-2b      Row-3b
Row-1c      Row-2c      Row-3c
Row-1d      Row-2d      Row-3d
Row-1e      Row-2e      Row-3e

and you want to only view the first column of the file in your CLI, run the following:

awk {'print $1'} demo.txt

Column-1
Row-1a
Row-1b
Row-1c
Row-1d
Row-1e

If you want to print the second column of demo.txt, just replace $1 with $2

96.4k views96.4k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Arch Linux	macOS
A lightweight and flexible Linux distribution that tries to Keep It Simple.	Desktop, laptop and home computers, and by web usage, it is the second most widely used desktop OS, after Microsoft Windows.
Statistics
Stacks 562	Stacks 926
Followers 555	Followers 562
Votes 108	Votes 6
Pros & Cons
Pros 17 Large Community 15 Package Manager 13 Customizable 12 Rolling Release 11 Bleeding Edge Cons 4 Systemd only 3 Only X86_64 architecture is offically supported 1 System maintenance 1 Comparatively fewer offically supported packages 1 No Guided Installation	Pros 4 Clean Interface 1 No promoted content 1 M1 Cons 1 Outdated window management
Integrations
No integrations available	Slack Google Chrome Firefox Hyper FUSE for macOS iTerm2 Sketch

What are some alternatives to Arch Linux, macOS?

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is an ancient African word meaning ‘humanity to others’. It also means ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’. The Ubuntu operating system brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the world of computers.

Debian

Debian systems currently use the Linux kernel or the FreeBSD kernel. Linux is a piece of software started by Linus Torvalds and supported by thousands of programmers worldwide. FreeBSD is an operating system including a kernel and other software.

Fedora

Fedora is a Linux-based operating system that provides users with access to the latest free and open source software, in a stable, secure and easy to manage form. Fedora is the largest of many free software creations of the Fedora Project. Because of its predominance, the word "Fedora" is often used interchangeably to mean both the Fedora Project and the Fedora operating system.

Linux Mint

The purpose of Linux Mint is to produce a modern, elegant and comfortable operating system which is both powerful and easy to use.

CentOS

The CentOS Project is a community-driven free software effort focused on delivering a robust open source ecosystem. For users, we offer a consistent manageable platform that suits a wide variety of deployments. For open source communities, we offer a solid, predictable base to build upon, along with extensive resources to build, test, release, and maintain their code.

Linux

A clone of the operating system Unix, written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX and Single UNIX Specification compliance.

CoreOS

It is designed for security, consistency, and reliability. Instead of installing packages via yum or apt, it uses Linux containers to manage your services at a higher level of abstraction. A single service's code and all dependencies are packaged within a container that can be run on one or many machines.

Gentoo Linux

It is a free operating system based on either Linux or FreeBSD that can be automatically optimized and customized for just about any application or need.

Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux is a security-oriented, lightweight Linux distribution based on musl libc and busybox.

Manjaro

It is an accessible, friendly, open-source Linux distribution and community. Based on Arch Linux, it provides all the benefits of cutting-edge software combined with a focus on getting started quickly, automated tools to require less manual intervention, and help readily available when needed.

Related Comparisons

Arch Linux vs macOS: What are the differences?

Customization: Arch Linux allows users to fully customize their system from scratch, giving them complete control over every aspect of their operating system. On the other hand, macOS follows a more closed approach, restricting users in terms of customization options and settings.
Package Management: Arch Linux uses a package manager called Pacman, which allows users to easily install, update, and manage software packages. In contrast, macOS utilizes the App Store for software installations, which may limit the availability of certain applications.
Kernel: Arch Linux uses the Linux kernel, known for its flexibility, scalability, and high performance on a variety of hardware platforms. macOS, on the other hand, uses the XNU kernel, which is specifically tailored for Apple hardware and may not offer the same level of compatibility with non-Apple devices.
User Interface: Arch Linux typically offers a minimalistic and lightweight user interface, allowing users to build their desktop environment with their preferred window manager, such as GNOME or KDE. In contrast, macOS provides a polished and intuitive user interface out of the box, designed to offer a seamless user experience for Apple users.

In Summary, Arch Linux and macOS differ in customization options, package management systems, kernel choices, and user interface designs.

Arch Linux vs macOS

Overview