2021-11-10 –, Room 4
Lxroot is a lightweight software virtualization tool (for Linux). With Lxroot, a non-root user can safely and easily install, run, develop, and test both packages and package managers. Compared with other virtualization tools, Lxroot is safer, smaller, conceptually simpler, and arguably more flexible (within the limits of what is possible as a non-root user).
Lxroot allows a non-root user to create chroot-style virtual environments via Linux namespaces. Lxroot simply creates and configures these chroot-namespaces, and then runs programs inside them. All the virtualization work is done directly by the Linux kernel itself, via its namespace capabilities.
Lxroot allows the simultaneous use of multiple package managers, both system package managers (such as pacman, apk, xbps, etc.), and non-system package managers (such as pip, npm, Flatpak, conda, mamba, Spack, etc.).
Lxroot allows a non-root user, on a single host kernel, to easily mix-and-match packages, userlands, and package-managers from multiple sources, including from multiple different Linux distributions.
Due to its simple and flexible nature, Lxroot has a variety of use cases related to the development, testing, and use of packages and package managers.
More information here:
https://github.com/parke/lxroot
This talk is an introduction to basic and intermediate use of Lxroot, with a special focus on topics related to packages and package managers.
Topics covered:
- About Lxroot
- introduction & goals
- related tools
- Linux namespaces & performance
- lightweight virtualization
- limitations - Three demos
- install a guest userland
- demo of non-distro package managers: pip, npm, Spack, Nix, Flatpak
- build an Alpine Linux package - Discuss
- compatibility with distro package managers
- Lxroot's command line interface
- use cases vis-a-vis building, testing and installing packages
- unexplored territory - Conclusion
More information here:
https://github.com/parke/lxroot
Parke Bostrom started writing computer programs in the 1980s. He lives in California. He believes a computer can only truly be "personal" if the user, and not the package manager, controls how software is installed, and how software runs.