mirror of
https://github.com/NotAShelf/microfetch.git
synced 2025-12-13 00:03:54 +00:00
docs: update motivation section a little
God redditors are insufferable Signed-off-by: NotAShelf <raf@notashelf.dev> Change-Id: I468d0fe0c1aaaa8d08d41373cfc8993c6a6a6964
This commit is contained in:
parent
cf3321b17a
commit
2066d781fe
1 changed files with 71 additions and 43 deletions
114
README.md
114
README.md
|
|
@ -6,15 +6,11 @@
|
|||
</div>
|
||||
|
||||
<div id="doc-begin" align="center">
|
||||
<h1 id="header">
|
||||
Microfetch
|
||||
</h1>
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
Microscopic fetch tool in Rust, for NixOS systems, with special emphasis on speed
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<h1 id="header">Microfetch</h1>
|
||||
<p>Microscopic fetch tool in Rust, for NixOS systems, with special emphasis on speed</p>
|
||||
<br/>
|
||||
<a href="#synopsis">Synopsis</a><br/>
|
||||
<a href="#features">Features</a> | <a href="#motivation">Motivation</a><br/>
|
||||
<a href="#features">Features</a> | <a href="#motivation">Motivation</a><br/> | <a href="#benchmarks">Benchmarks</a><br/>
|
||||
<a href="#installation">Installation</a>
|
||||
<br/>
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
|
|
@ -65,34 +61,42 @@ on your system: it is pretty _[fast](#benchmarks)_...
|
|||
|
||||
## Motivation
|
||||
|
||||
Fastfetch, as its name probably hinted, is a very fast fetch tool written in C.
|
||||
However, I am not interested in _any_ of its additional features, and I'm not
|
||||
interested in its configuration options. Sure I can _configure_ it when I
|
||||
dislike the defaults, but how often would I really change the configuration...
|
||||
[Rube-Goldmark Machine]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg_machine
|
||||
|
||||
Microfetch is my response to this problem. It is an _even faster_ fetch tool
|
||||
that I would've written in Bash and put in my `~/.bashrc` but is _actually_
|
||||
incredibly fast because it opts out of all the customization options provided by
|
||||
tools such as Fastfetch. Ultimately, it's a small, opinionated binary with a
|
||||
nice size that doesn't bother me, and incredible speed. Customization? No thank
|
||||
you. I cannot re-iterate it enough, Microfetch is _annoyingly fast_.
|
||||
Fastfetch, as its name _probably_ already hinted, is a very fast fetch tool
|
||||
written in C. I used to use Fastfetch on my systems, but I eventually came to
|
||||
the realization that I am _not interested in any of its additional features_. I
|
||||
don't use Sixel, I don't change my configuration more than maybe once a year and
|
||||
I don't even display most of the fields that it does. Sure the configurability
|
||||
is nice and I can configure the defaults that I do not like but how often do I
|
||||
really do that?
|
||||
|
||||
The project is written in Rust, which comes at the cost of "bloated" dependency
|
||||
trees and the increased build times, but we make an extended effort to keep the
|
||||
dependencies minimal and build times managable. The latter is also very easily
|
||||
mitigated with Nix's binary cache systems. Since Microfetch is already in
|
||||
Nixpkgs, you are recommended to use it to utilize the binary cache properly. The
|
||||
usage of Rust _is_ nice, however, since it provides us with incredible tooling
|
||||
and a very powerful language that allows for Microfetch to be as fast as
|
||||
possible. Sure C could've been used here as well, but do you think I hate
|
||||
myself?
|
||||
Since I already enjoy programming challenges, and don't use a fetch program that
|
||||
often, I eventually came to try and answer the question _how fast can I make my
|
||||
fetch script?_ It is an _even faster_ fetch tool that I would've written in Bash
|
||||
and put in my `~/.bashrc` but is _actually_ incredibly fast because it opts out
|
||||
of all the customization options provided by tools such as Fastfetch. Since
|
||||
Fetch scripts are kind of a coming-of-age ritual for most Linux users, I've
|
||||
decided to use it on my system. You also might be interested if you like the
|
||||
defaults and like speed.
|
||||
|
||||
> [!IMPORTANT]
|
||||
> **Update as of November 30th, 2025**:
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Microfetch now inlines handwritten assembly for even better performance. I
|
||||
> know I previously said I do not hate myself but I'm beginning to suspect this
|
||||
> is no longer the case. Enjoy the performance benefits!
|
||||
Ultimately, it's a small, opinionated binary with a nice size that doesn't
|
||||
bother me, and incredible speed. Customization? No thank you. I cannot
|
||||
re-iterate it enough, Microfetch is _annoyingly fast_. It does not, however,
|
||||
solve a technical problem. The "problem" Microfetch solves is entirely
|
||||
self-imposed. On the matter of _size_, the project is written in Rust, which
|
||||
comes at the cost of "bloated" dependency trees and the increased build times,
|
||||
but we make an extended effort to keep the dependencies minimal and build times
|
||||
managable. The latter is also very easily mitigated with Nix's binary cache
|
||||
systems. Since Microfetch is already in Nixpkgs, you are recommended to use it
|
||||
to utilize the binary cache properly. The usage of Rust _is_ nice, however,
|
||||
since it provides us with incredible tooling and a very powerful language that
|
||||
allows for Microfetch to be as fast as possible. ~~Sure C could've been used
|
||||
here as well, but do you think I hate myself?~~ Microfetch now features
|
||||
handwritten assembly to unsafely optimize some areas. In hindsight you all
|
||||
should have seen this coming. Is it faster? Yes.
|
||||
|
||||
Also see: [Rube-Goldmark Machine]
|
||||
|
||||
## Benchmarks
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -200,17 +204,31 @@ You can't.
|
|||
|
||||
### Why?
|
||||
|
||||
Customization, of any kind, is expensive: I could try reading environment
|
||||
variables, parse command-line arguments or read a configuration file but all of
|
||||
those increment execution time and resource consumption by a lot.
|
||||
Customization, of most kinds, are expensive: I could try reading environment
|
||||
variables, parse command-line arguments or read a configuration file to allow
|
||||
configuring various fields but those inflate execution time and the resource
|
||||
consumption by a lot. Since Microfetch is closer to a code golf challenge than a
|
||||
program that attempts to fill a gap, I have elected not to make this trade.
|
||||
|
||||
### Really?
|
||||
|
||||
To be fair, you _can_ customize Microfetch by, well, patching it. It's not the
|
||||
best way per se, but it will be the only way that does not compromise on speed.
|
||||
[main module]: ./src/main.rs
|
||||
[discussions tab]: https://github.com/NotAShelf/microfetch/discussions
|
||||
|
||||
To be fair, you _can_ customize Microfetch by, well, patching it. It is
|
||||
certainly not the easiest way of doing so but if you are planning to change
|
||||
something in Microfetch, patching is the best way to go. It will also the only
|
||||
way that does not compromise on speed, unless you patch in bad code. Various
|
||||
users have adapted Microfetch to their distribution by patching the
|
||||
[main module] and inserting the logo of their choice. This is also the best way
|
||||
to go if you plan to make small changes. If your changes are not small, you
|
||||
might want to look for a program that is designed to be customizable; Microfetch
|
||||
is built for maximum performance.
|
||||
|
||||
The Nix package allows passing patches in a streamlined manner by passing
|
||||
`.overrideAttrs` to the derivation.
|
||||
`.overrideAttrs` to the derivation. You can apply your patches in `patches` and
|
||||
share your derivations with people. Feel free to use the [discussions tab] to
|
||||
share your own variants of Microfetch!
|
||||
|
||||
## Contributing
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -222,13 +240,22 @@ Contributions that help improve performance in specific areas of Microfetch are
|
|||
welcome. Though, prepare to be bombarded with questions if your changes are
|
||||
large.
|
||||
|
||||
## Hacking
|
||||
### Hacking
|
||||
|
||||
A Nix flake is provided. `nix develop` to get started. Direnv users may simply
|
||||
run `direnv allow` to get started.
|
||||
A Nix flake is provided. You may use `nix develop` to get started. Direnv users
|
||||
may instead run `direnv allow` to get a complete environment with shell
|
||||
integration.
|
||||
|
||||
Non-nix users will need `cargo` and `gcc` installed on their system, see
|
||||
`Cargo.toml` for available release profiles.
|
||||
Non-Nix user will need `cargo`, `clang` and `mold` installed on their system to
|
||||
build Microfetch. As Mold seems to yield _slightly_ better results than the
|
||||
default linker, it has been set as the default in `.cargo/config.toml` for
|
||||
x86-64 Linux. You may override those defaults using the `RUSTFLAGS` environment
|
||||
variable. For example:
|
||||
|
||||
```sh
|
||||
# Use ld instead of Mold
|
||||
$ RUSTFLAGS="-C linker=/path/to/ld.lld" cargo build
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
## Thanks
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -245,6 +272,7 @@ person about current issues. To list a few, special thanks to:
|
|||
- [@sioodmy](https://github.com/sioodmy) - Being cute
|
||||
- [@mewoocat](https://github.com/mewoocat) - The awesome NixOS logo ASCII used
|
||||
in Microfetch
|
||||
- [@uzaaft](https://github.com/uzaaft) - Helping me going faster
|
||||
|
||||
Additionally a big thank you to everyone who used, talked about or criticized
|
||||
Microfetch. I might have missed your name here, but you have my thanks.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
Loading…
Add table
Add a link
Reference in a new issue