Editing Arch Linux Basics (section)

== Differences in package management ==

Arch Linux compared to Ubuntu is a rolling release distribution, which means quicker updates and no set releases (like Ubuntu LTS). The ISOs (image files) are the ones that are distributed as "versions" on the website and are updated regularly. (In other words) For example, you could download the 2018.03.01 ISO and install it while installing the newest packages, but this does not mean your system is running on Arch Linux 2018.03.01. It is running Arch Linux with whatever you have installed, compared to Ubuntu with a specific release number (16.04 LTS). This means your installation is more flexible and has more regular updates, but less jumps to the next version.

Manjaro (a derivative of Arch Linux, i.e. distro based off of Arch Linux) has packages that are more stable than Arch (Arch is bleeding-edge and gets updates on nearly the same days). You can switch to the testing branch or install Arch packages from their repositories early (sometimes with some errors!) if you decide a package is too old. With Ubuntu, this would generally be done differently, either by adding a PPA (personal package archive) repository (which can become outdated and config files would have to be updated more often), or by running a .deb file locally (which can take up more space than an Arch Linux package file, which only contains the description of what commands are needed to install the package).

This is very important to note when you are planning to install Arch as a daily driver (daily-use system) and need the newest software.

In short, you will be using a different package manager called <code>pacman</code> instead of <code>apt-get</code> or <code>apt</code>. It is useful frequently when managing your system and is how Arch Linux is centered around (a different update system). You will learn a lot about internals of the system. You may experience major or minor issues, that's okay, ask for help in the Telegram group, or look up your error. You never know when you'll find something useful! Good luck on your journey looking into the OS and having a fully customizable system!

If you feel Arch isn't for you, don't worry. It is just another distro and you can use whatever you like. For some of us we feel it's a good introduction into tweaking the OS because it's very different in how it works. For this reason, we generally don't recommend Arch as a first distro (but Manjaro might be accessible enough.) We would usually recommend Ubuntu/Debian because of a workflow that's generally more user friendly and adaptable. (If you want to use Arch for your first distro, go ahead! I recommend to read the [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Installation_Guide installation guide] so you don't get stuck knowing which command to use.)
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