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Linux distribution information

Note: This material should probably get moved into the Linux Distribution category page.

A Linux distribution represents a set of software including Linux that you can install on a computer.

• You start with some sort of "boot loader," some basic software to load Linux from some location (perhaps a floppy, CDROM, USB key, or loaded across a network)
• It then boots the Linux kernel, and provides some system to allow you to configure various things on your system such as a network connection. This configuration is usually set up to persist so that you don't need to reinstall things from scratch each time you turn your computer on.
• Various other software is made available. Some distributions offer literally thousands of applications of incredible variety. One of the important distinctions between Linux distributions is the set of software installation tools. The tool RPM, popularized by Red Hat Software, is one popular installation tool, also used in systems like Fedora, SuSE, and CentOS. Debian GNU/Linux introduced dpkg, which is used by a number of distributions such as Ubuntu.
• Different distributions have variations in how they manage system configuration as well as in what versions of software they include. Since software that is being actively developed frequently sees new versions, you can discover that one distribution may temporarily be "more modern" than another. The different styles of system configuration will tend to persist, but they all get upgraded periodically to include more recent versions of the applications they have in common.

Distribution	Package Tool	Description
DistroWatch	n/a	Cheezy, ad-filled commercial site - but at least there is a way to easily find stuff on that obscure distro you can't remember the name of...
CentOS	RPM	Quoted from: www.centos.org: CentOS is an Enterprise-class Linux Distribution derived from sources freely provided to the public by a prominent North American Enterprise Linux vendor. CentOS conforms fully with the upstream vendors redistribution policy and aims to be 100% binary compatible. (CentOS mainly changes packages to remove upstream vendor branding and artwork.) CentOS is free.
Debian	DPKG	The long-standing free distribution with open governance
Fedora	RPM	The "free" fork of Red Hat Software's distribution
Gentoo	Portage	Prefers to deploy software by downloading and compiling from source code
Knoppix	DPKG	Uses Debian-derived packages, but is primarily deployed as a "live, bootable CD". People frequently build custom "live CDs" starting with Knoppix and adding desired packages from Debian
Mepis	DPKG	Uses Ubuntu-derived packages to implement a CD-runnable Linux
PCLinuxOS	RPM	This was originally a "fork" from Mandrake/Mandriva, but has become an "installable LiveCD" system.
Slackware	GNU Tar	The eldest still-active distribution
SUSE_LINUX	RPM	Formerly known as S.u.S.E. Linux Formerly known as SuSE Linux Currently branded by Novell as SUSE LINUX
RHEL	RPM	The "enterprise" fork of Red Hat Software's distribution
Ubuntu	DPKG	Uses Debian-derived packages, but tries to have much more 'up to date' stable releases (perhaps at some cost of stability)

When you find differences between distributions, you'll find they fall into several categories, some more "permanent" than others:

• One distribution may have a later version of some pieces of software than others. This will often resolve itself, over time, as all of the distributions are plucking sources from the same streams. Newer Linux kernels, newer versions of Apache, newer versions of whatever, can be expected to become available on newer versions of distributions.

• On the other hand, once a distribution has chosen a set of package management software, that tends to be mighty difficult to change.

• A little more difficult to measure in its effects can be the policy of the distribution. Slackware has always used a BSD-style init system, which has quite a number of side implications. A number of distributions have followed the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard; Red Hat has resisted it, with the result that there are persistent differences between those sets of distributions. Debian's stable releases have a huge number of tests to pass, with the result that they tend to have fairly old versions of software by the time a release can be declared stable.