I really don't know how the Debian maintainers check for all the bugs in every release of Debian, but isn't it the case that if all codes for every package have been patched up and tested for all CPU architectures listed, then releasing them with CPU optimization would be easy?? I mean, for CPU optimization, isn't it all up to the compiler and there's no chance of bugs suddenly appearing?
Alright, I'm NOT YET looking for a Gentoo Linux derived system where I can compile every software with all the CPU optimization that's available to my hardware. Maybe there's a Debian-like repository out there that has the most common optimizations like SSE and those other extensions. Is there? I don't really mind aggressively compiled binaries that in total are no better than the standard Debian packages.
If not, as stated above, then I will be looking for a Portage-like (from Gentoo Linux) system that runs on Debian that will let me automate all the compilation and .deb-wrapping of all "Source Packages" from the Debian repositories. Are there any of that?
Best Answer
If you want to build specific packages according to your own liking, you could use the Gentoo prefix project. It allows you to compile and install packages to a specific directory, as a regular user. This way you can enjoy the flexibility and repositories of Gentoo, without breaking or changing your system.