Server Distributions

[Leo Mauler]

--- Jason Clinton <me at jasonclinton.com> wrote:

> Jonathan Hutchins wrote:
> > I mean to try Debian, but am reluctant to rely 
> > on source code packages without a package 
> > manangement system.  It's not clear to me that 
> > you can do a complete debian install and stay 
> > within the apt system.  Can you?
> 
> I think you criss-crossed Slackware with Debian.
> 
> Debian has a full package management system with 
> a full installer that will even auto probe 
> hardware and partion for you.  It also installs 
> some binary kernels stuff for you and configures 
> X. (This is the new installer I'm talking about.) 
> The Debian package management system (apt) is the 
> one to which all others are compared.
> 
> Slackware has a small package management system 
> that uses simple tar.gz files. I have never run 
> Slackware; in our LUG, atleast Wade Wassenburg 
> does.

I've run Slackware up to 9.0.  The packaging system
isn't as simple as tar.gz (you can't just throw any
old tar.gz at it and expect it to install properly),
its a little more complicated than that, but still
less complex than other installers including Debian. 
Slackware also has the feature of storing all its
install records in plaintext files so you can grep
them quickly and easily.

Having said all that, while I've not been able to
install Debian properly in the past (3.0_rc0),
Debian's apt and to some extent even RPM would be a
little better for the average user given that they're
probably going to be needing GUI frontends to access
the package database.    I don't recall a GUI frontend
to "installpkg" in Slackware.

Also, I think you've criss-crossed Slackware with
Gentoo.  Slackware packages are all binary tar.gz
packages, not source tar.gz files.  You do all your
own compiling in Slackware.


=====
"There ought to be limits to freedom."
    -- George W. Bush, Austin Press Conference, 
        May 21, 1999


		
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