What was the first Linux distro?

Wait, I remember reading that exact same article about Debian before! (it even explains the name) Perhaps I was just looking at an old debian cd I had or something and assumed the wrong date... Sorry for posting the bad info above then!

Debian started in 1993 and had several years of 0.9x releases. The first 1.x release was in 1996 (and the 2.x releases started in July of 1998).

Mandrake Linux was started in 1998 and apparently it's first release number was 5.1 because it was built from Red Hat 5.1 at the time it was created.

There is an overlap here which makes your statement plausible (although misleading). You could have been using Mandrake 5.1 (not 5.0 but you'll have the benefit of the doubt here) while Debian was still in 1.x versions. But Debian would have been about 5 years old at the time and Mandrake would have been less than a year. The version numbers of projects are often misleading. I can think of several off the top of my head with large leaps like this (either at the start or in the middle to "catch up" to the version numbers of other systems so they don't seem backwards).

Pre-1.x releases of the Linux kernel aren't that rare. I have Slackware 2.2.0 (my first distro and I keep it for the pleasant memories). And although the install kernel is 1.2.1 it came with the sources for older versions down to 0.01. I do not know if 0.99 was there (I know 1.0 was) but I do know I've seen it around.

Edit: This post was late but I got up to eat and forgot to hit post until I got back.

Originally Posted by LzW-x The oldest version I've ever seen was on an abandonware site... Linux v0.99... Other then that I thought I remember reading that that it was RedHat v1.0? I'm not sticking with that, it might be wrong... But Debian? Come on, I'm sure I remember using Mandrake 5.0 when Debian was at v1.0! You can get linux .99 at vetusware if you want it: http://vetusware.com/

Sounds to me like your basing this off the version of the Linux kernel itself. Never base from the version of the kernel. And yes, Debian was around well before Mandrake. Mandrake was based from Red Hat originally, Debian was well, based off of Debian, it's original. Slackware was based off of SLS but that's only because SLS was poorly packaged, so Patrick decided to create his own with a better package management system, etc.

Interesting point, while both Debian and Slackware were in early development, Pat and Ian talked about merging the two. Didn't because Pat felt that the "open developement" model would never work.

Yep ... Slackware beat Debian to release by 3 or 3 months ... Any bets on which one will last the longest?

My bet is on Debian.

Originally Posted by trickykid I guess a kernel and a few other packages to use the kernel really don't qualify it to be called a "Distribution".

I can see why some people may say it wasn't a distribution, but its one of those things that I think people will have to agree to disagree. The reason I say this is that if you look at the likes of LFS and other DIY type distros, they give you the bare minimum and you do the rest yourself. They are still classed as "distributions" even though one installation is not the same as someone elses. Is this not similar to what Torvalds did? If so, then he released some sort of distro although not in the same way that we perceive modern distros.

Hi,

One of the books around me says,
1991:
Sept, kernel 0.01 released.
Oct, kernel 0.02 released.
Nov, kernel 0.10 released.
1992:
Feb, comp.os.linux kicked in.
Mar, kernel 0.95 released, SLS (Softlanding Linux System) and interim released.
Dec, kernel 0.99 released.
1993:
May, Slackware 1.0 released.
1994:
Mar, kernel 1.0 (official version) released.
Apr, kernel 1.1 (developmental) released.

My penguin was born in 1996/7, Slackware 3.1.

Happy Penguins!