I've done the Chapter 5 install before to try pacman. I think the only new real dependencies it asks for are OpenSSL, cURL, libarchive, and gpgme. Those aren't too much to add, even into the final system, but a few bring in some dependencies. I think pkgtools requires only the Dialog package.

CRUX/Nutyx Pkgfiles need minimal editing. You can add libarchive and pkgutils in ch5 or after your system is installed.

Pkgtools does not need dialog, only if you want to use the cli.

I'm still working on using my custom LFS with ZFS and OpenRC. Pending completion, since last week has been hectic, I should have a new fully featured hint available soon for it.

Roll your own is how all of Unix use to be... Then, someone wrote Perl, which caused someone else conceptualize OO and write java.

Boomer, "Gall darn one liners! I don't even know what this does! How the hell do you maintain this stuff?! I got an idea, lets make a language designed around how business gets done!"

Gen-Xer, "Someone already wrote COBOL boss, and everyone hated it... People poked fun at MIT lectures."

Boomer, "No, no, no! Not a language... We'll make a business paradigm! That way other people will be able to actually read what you wrote."

Gen-Why?, "Modeled after the real world... Wow, what a great idea... So, it's really like architecture then... I guess."

Boomer, "Greatest thing since sliced bread, son."

Gen-Xer, "Oh, shit... This is going to be bad."

Gates was allowed to run a monopoly unchecked and so GNU got political. Then, a couple of Red Hat guys come a long and read a kernel API reference and decide that ripping everything out and redoing it for the hell of it is actually a good plan.

But, problems did exist before that... Someone dreamed up xserver and thought this was the right way to design a video subsystem. I blame George Lucas, he ruined my childhood memories.