Alpine Linux:Glossary

The Glossary is an extensive list of terms and Alpine Linux features with definitions and considerable explanations. A great place for reference and general browsing.

A

abuild

The tool to build packages from sources using APKBUILD.

ACF

Alpine Configuration Framework is a mvc-style application for configuring an Alpine Linux device. The primary focus is for a web interface - ACF's main goal is to be a light-weight MVC "webmin".

apk

AlpineLinux Package - A) The binary distribution package format for AlpineLinux software B) The set of tools used to install, query, and remove software packages on a running AlpineLinux system.

APKBUILD

A build recipie that is used to build alpine packages for apk. It holds information of package name, version, license, dependencies, sources etc and how to compile the sources and package the binaries.

apkovl

Apkovl is a file storing configuration files that have changed from the default ones. It is used when running from ram. The contents are overlayed on top of the contents of the apks that are loaded on boot. The filename is <hostname>.apkovl.tar.gz and is stored on removable media whose path is defined in /etc/lbu/lbu.conf.

B

Busybox

Busybox is a utility that combines many common Linux tools into a single program. Most of the command-line tools in the core Alpine Linux distribution are part of Busybox.

G

git

The distributed version control system that Alpine Linux uses.

L

lbu

Local Backup Utility. A tool to make backups of user configuration. Since the system typically runs from RAM, lbu is used to save the state of the system to a file that is restored to bring the system back to its previous state.

LEAF

Linux Embedded Appliance Framework. Alpine Linux started as a fork of the LEAF project. A secure, feature-rich, customizable embedded Linux network appliance for use in a variety of network topologies. Although it can be used in other ways; it's primarily used as a Internet gateway, router, firewall, and wireless access point.

M

MVC

The MVC design pattern is used in ACF to separate presentation information from control logic. By MVC we mean:

• Model - code that reads / writes a config file, starts / stops daemons, or does other work modifying the router.
• View - code that formats data for output
• Controller - code that glues the two together

O

OpenRC

OpenRC is a dependency based universal init system that works with the system provided init program.

U

uClibc

uClibc (aka µClibc/pronounced yew-see-lib-see) is a C library for developing embedded Linux systems. It is much smaller than the GNU C Library, but nearly all applications supported by glibc also work perfectly with uClibc.