I think the article should also point to the /usr merge https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/TheCaseForTheUsrMerge/ https://www.freedesktop.org/wik

I think the article should also point to the /usr merge https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/TheCaseForTheUsrMerge/ https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/TheCaseFor... because it makes it feasible to have atomic distributions. Most Linux distributions today have moved all the distribution-specific system files under the /usr hierarchy. Which means that a Linux distribution consists mostly of the /usr and /boot directories. In addition, you have files in /var and /etc that can be modified by the local system administrator and you have /home (which is actually /var/home internally) where regular users can save local files. The local admin can still influence the system by editing files in /etc but she cannot mess with the files in /usr. The key benefit is that distributors can roll out very well-defined Linux distributions that still allow for local modifications in non-critical areas.