Is Slackware worth learning?
 

I was just on an irc channel asking about Slackware, which I just installed, and they started bashing it saying its completely worthless. In 2010 is it still a good OS to use if learning about OS guts?

I have another system which I use when I need to get stuff done, so its not like I can't deal with any system issues that may arise.

Tell me what you think.

Since you specifically mentioned learning about the guts of the OS - yes - Slackware will be an excellent tool for you.

As far as the people you were talking to go, generalisations like "completely worthless" without specific examples of the problems they were having say more about their state of mind than the state of Slackware

Who said that ?!? I bet those who said that have never done serious work with their computing machines!

I have several systems which I use when I need to get things done - and they all run Slackware! I also maintain several systems for wife and kids which are a mix of work, play and educational - all Slackware.

Worth learning? Slackeware is t-h-e most "worth" learning.

YES

Well mainly, they said it was worthless because of the absence of a package manager. I am currently cleaning up the system since there is a bunch of applications I don't need. But the fact that I have to do it manually makes it "worthless" according to them.

Slackware has a package manager - you! And I do not mean that to be sarcastic.

Slackware does not have a dependency checking package manager, but that is a FEATURE, not something missing!

There are many threads here on LQ on that subject, but by not having a dependency checking package manager Slackware allows you to keep tons of garbage and useless cruft off your system without breaking it! It also allows you to EASILY install new software without installing 4GB of mostly unrelated garbage which just happens to be marked as a dependency of some minor package.

They know not of what they speak...

There is a common misconception that Slackware is ancient and uses ancient software. While some may have had valid arguments on why they would not have used an out-of-the-box Slackware 11.0, a lot has changed since then, and most of the software shipped with Slackware is fairly current. Any other argument against Slackware would have to do with either package management or configuration. On the configuration front, it's a personal choice -- some prefer editing text files, others prefer a graphical tool to edit text files for them. On the package management side, it's a different philosophy that just doesn't appeal to a lot of GNU/Linux users. However, to call it worthless is certainly silly. I can do everything in Slackware that I could do in any other distribution. It may not be as easy, depending on the task, but it can be done. Thus, the definition of 'worthless' does not apply; you are still using GNU/Linux, and aside from administrative practices it acts nearly identically to any other GNU/Linux distro available in terms of usability once everything is set up.

Those who call Slackware worthless will never change their minds. They are certainly entitled to their opinion, and I think their views on simplicity versus ease of use differ from those of Slackware users. In the end, Slackware is just another GNU/Linux distribution, with notably different philosophies than many others. If you prefer Slackware's philosophies, great; have fun. If not, then you can join the herd and go with any number of other distributions. No one here is going to think less of you if you do (well, maybe some will, but they shouldn't); alternatively, if you do enjoy using Slackware, there are many here that would be more than willing to help you out with any problems you may encounter.

Thats what they said too, followed by their opinions. Thanks for the detailed posts. I know Slackware is less user-friendly but I am glad to see there are people to help out.

Thanks!

You will spend hours at a Slackware machine oblivious to the world because finally, you will become aware of the speed and simplicity of Slackware, and you will be immensely enjoying the Slackware experience. Just ask my wife! :)

I switched to Slackware spefically "to learn". I switched to linux for something new and the distros (Ubuntu and Mandriva) I started with, while fine in their own right, both seemed slow, and after a month or so I realized what I was learning was just a couple of different sets of GUI configuration tools. With Slackware you pretty well have to learn something about how the system operates.

I won't lie, my first month with Slackware was a little strained, but at the end of that month I suddenly realized that Slackware was the easiest OS I had ever used. It's true that installing and removing packages isn't a matter of searching with apt or urpmi, but instead I use sbopkg. And while it's true that the packages I install are compiled locally which takes some time depending on the package, I've definitely come to see that as a BIG advantage and a feature. It's definitely not anything lacking. I think the average Slackware user is a little shocked when test driving other distros and clicking one package suddenly requires 6 more packages, almost everytime.

And as far as configuration goes, I never had 100% success with any graphical configuration tool, and ultimately found myself hand editing the underlying text file anyway, it's just with Slackware it's always a much simpler thing to do because:

Slackware is generally a simpler design
There are no graphical tools making assumptions
The developers haven't made any assumptions for me
The Slackware community, while smaller, also tends to be very knowlegeable and willing to help.

LOL, yeah that too.

no, Slackware is like getting a bone-stock 1965 Mustang that YOU
have to hop-up (or not) and turn into your hot-rod
your expected to know/learn how to fix it, how to adjust it
and how to get it running fast
thats Slackware

Wait, how are you cleaning it up manually? There are a package management commands that does it automatically the way you expect; installpkg, removepkg, upgradepkg, pkgtool.

On the other hand, I have found it harder to remove cruft from other distros because their higher number of dependencies. Because slackware is lean and doesn't normally need dependency tracking, you might find it easier to clean up unwanted applications than a default install from other distros that have those fancy package managers to manage the mess.

Hi,

Actually I like the analogy of driving a vehicle. You learn to drive a stick shift and then find a vehicle with an automatic. Get yourself into a ditch with that automatic an see how well you get out of the ditch. At least with the stick I can get the vehicle rocking and hopefully out with minor effort. Sometimes you may need a wrecker but why if the neighbor has a tractor. Help is just like that here on LQ.

Or you could fire that chauffeur for getting you into the ditch! :)

Sure you can get that hold your hand distribution and get up an running. But when something goes wrong, then who's going to help you. Sure we don't discriminate here at LQ but my point is the knowing of the intricacy for the OS will help to solve your issues.

Most haters of anything are just echoing someone Else's poor understanding. Sometimes it's just plain laziness, do it for me!

I don't wanna hold your hand! But I will steer you hopefully in the right direction(s).

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We Know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it."- Samuel Johnson
:hattip:

Which IRC channel was it? :D