this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2023
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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NixOS and nix in general is incredibly complicated imo and the documentation is... let's just say sub par. I'd go with arch unless you really just wanna learn nix.
It's incredibly complicated in the same way that ubuntu is incredibly complicated to a lifelong windows user.
It just requires a bit of a paradigm shift which includes a learning curve but IMO once you're past that point it's intuitive and even easier than other distros.
You cannot compare NixOS to ubuntu... even for as a new user to more adept user comparison, NixOS is really complicated. I'm not saying it's bad, just that the documentation on how it works could be better. I've tried to use NixOS and nix itself multiple times and they were a nightmare to setup each time, especially NixOS (nix itself isn't as complicated to me but it has some annoying things with proprietary software and not integrating with desktops at all without using hacky scripts).
Did you truly read what I said? The only logical way I can frame your comment is that you glanced at what I wrote down and started writing a reply.
To a regular average windows user, ubuntu is incredibly complicated. When you learm how it works and how you're supposed to use it, it becomes incredibly easy. The "hard" part of ubuntu is the paradigm shift from windows to the linux ecosystem.
Similarly, to an average linux user nixos is "hard" because it does things completely differently from other linux distros. But once you're used to it, it just makes sense and is easy.
So the comparison is average windows user -> ubuntu vs average linux user -> nixos. Not average user -> ubuntu vs average user -> nixos.
Finally: Nixos documentation is IMO 100x better than ubuntu documentation. Whenever I experience any issue with ubuntu it's easier to just load up the arch wiki and hope it's similar than it is to try and find anything specific for ubuntu that isn't either 10 years out of date, a massive gaping security risk or just plain dumb. The nixos wiki may not be perfect but it has always been sufficient for my needs, and I have to run a decent amount of very niche pieces of software.