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openSUSE Spin Achieves 100% Bit-Identical Packages For Reproducible Builds
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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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Why tho? I'm a software developer but I don't do much with build systems. With the same source code, shouldn't the resulting binary always be the same too?
You need the same source code, the same exact build tools, the same exact libraries that it depends on, and the same exact OS. Additionally every single build has to be reproducible - so not including in its output, say, the build date/time or any information about the host that built it. Now you need to repeat that for thousands of packages.