> The space to cache each individual possible output would be enormous and impractical. So you would still need repositories. I've been using Gentoo for the pa

> The space to cache each individual possible output would be enormous and impractical. So you would still need repositories. I've been using Gentoo for the past few weeks and this was my thought. There are so many ways to compile packages depending on your needs. It is practical to make binary sets for a few common configurations that are good enough for most people for each distro, though. (Installing and using Gentoo has been an incredible learning experience. You have to go into it with the desire to take long tangents filling the gaps in your knowledge re: shared libraries, kernel modules, your init system of choice, gcc, your windowing system of choice, bootloaders, bash, etc. I feel like I've made more of a quantum leap in my Linux skills the past month than I have in years, and it's been quite fun and rewarding.) > Different distros still have differences in the build commands they issue and the set of dependencies they enable. Would it even make sense in theory for this not to be the case? What is a Linux distro but a set of programs, libraries, and environment choices chosen to be run on the Linux kernel?