Bruce Dubbs, editor-in-chief of the Linux From Scratch project, announced the termination of updating versions of the manuals Linux From Scratch (LFS) and Beyond Linux From Scratch (BLFS) in configuration with the SysVinit init system. Access to the LFS/BLFS 12.4 manual with SysVinit will remain, but the scheduled March 1 release of LFS/BLFS 13.0 will only be built with the systemd system manager.
Linux From Scratch provides instructions for creating a basic Linux system from scratch, using only the source code of the necessary software. Beyond Linux From Scratch supplements the LFS instructions with information on building and configuring application software packages covering a variety of applications, from database management systems and server systems to graphical shells and media players.
Lack of resources and the end of support for SysVinit by large projects such as GNOME and KDE Plasma are cited as reasons for not developing tutorials with SysVinit. The project is maintained by a small team of volunteers who are unable to cope with the influx of changes to 88 LFS packages and over 1000 packages in BLFS, with the need to test all packages to ensure they work in System V and systemd based environments. In addition, the latest versions of GNOME and KDE Plasma require systemd functionality, which could be implemented by switching to OpenRC, but migration will not solve the problem of overloading book editors.
Bruce also noted that this is a forced decision, which he is not happy with. Systemd includes 1678 C files plus many data files, while SysVinit contains 22 C files and about 50 small bash scripts and data files. Despite the significant advantage of systemd in functionality, according to Bruce, after the end of support for SysVinit, the book will lose components important for understanding how the system works.