Should slackware get modernized for today's computers?
SlackwareThis Forum is for the discussion of Slackware Linux.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
View Poll Results: Should slackware get modernized for today's computers?
No. Slackware is already optimized and if you want a distro that does dependency resolution then why not just use arch or some other distro. Is it really necessry that every single distro do the exact same things? Honestly if those distros wanted to improve themselves they'd be looking to mimic what slackware has done.
*IF* something had to be modernized with slackware I would prefer some aspect that didn't effect the entire ideology of the distro itself -- such as "modernizing" the website, documentation, and central supply of slackbuilds. And when i say modernizing the website I don't mean making it flashy but rather simplifying it further, maybe text only with links :^). Just a thought.
Click here to see the post LQ members have rated as the most helpful post in this thread.
Secondly, it's time for slackware to start doing package dependency handling. I don't mind handling the dependencies myself, but there are times when it gets to much when those dependencies requires their own dependencies to be resolved.
It's not time. If you want dependency checking find another distribution. There are plenty of them out there to choose from.
Last edited by chrisretusn; 09-07-2011 at 07:02 PM.
Slackware has almost always been more up to date and advanced than any other distribution out there, as well as the best to learn with, the easiest to use, and the simplest by design.
Slackware can more than hold it's own again any other distribution out there, if not blow most other distributions out of the water.
How is Slackware not modern because of no dependency tracking? The reason Debian-stable gets so old and crusty is not because of it having the most stable packages, it just has a behemoth database of dependencies that they have to test against each other to make sure they all work properly. That's why it's called "stable". Slackware doesn't have this problem. Slackware comes equipped with most the most basic and useful for software for creating a desktop or server of your choosing. There's much less software that needs to be tested together so we get nice shiny releases about once a year that are both modern AND stable. The Slackware team is also much smaller than your Debians, Red Hats and Suses. Who in the world would is going to maintain all this dependency tracking? For that matter who would want to?
When I first used Slackware earlier this year the biggest thing that bugged me about it was its lack of automated dependency resolution. I didn't hate it, I was just used to Ubuntu and Debian since I'd been using them for four years prior to Slackware. However I got over it. I'm not sure if I can say that I prefer Slackware's way or not, there are certainly benefits to it. Either way, it doesn't bother me at all, and it's not like I'm constantly installing packages with scores of dependencies, I don't even use queuefiles because they really aren't necessary.
Why people can't learn simple dependency resolving is PART OF BASIC COMPUTER ADMINISTRATION SKILLS is beyond me.
Not every package out there is going to have every dependency automatically resolved by the database.
For your information I know how to handle dependencies. Been there done that. I have no problem about compiling software and resolving their dependencies.
The only thing that bother me was manually downloading the packages from website to website especially when there were many to download.
I was installing packages this way in my early years of using slackware before using sites like slackbuilds.org or http://connie.slackware.com/~alien/. When I found out about these two sites in the past this made the process easier since all packages were in one place.
Yes Frank, but what I'm getting at if you take my comment into deeper meaning and context is, people like to complain about dependency resolving when they come to Slackware because they have to learn how to do it manually. The problem isn't Slackware however. The problem is distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, and others that don't offer the learning curve of learning the fundamentals of GNU/Linux administration, one of the key skills being resolving dependencies, while claiming to be:
state-of-the-art
easy-to-use
user friendly
professional grade
industry standard
...when realistically all they are is a headache and stumbling block to learning how to do things manually without automation, and properly configuring a system by hand.
So here's a question back at you and anyone else who wants to answer it:
If everything is constantly done for you, how will you ever learn how to do things for yourself?
Common-sense will tell you the answer... and I have that answer already, and distributions like Fedora, Ubuntu, etc. only solidify that Slackware is not only forever ahead of the other distributions out there, but to a point where literally, Slackware is the definition of a true and pure Linux based GNU operating system that adheres directly to the BSD/UNIX model.
In fact look at how FreeBSD works in comparison to Slackware. For all practical purposes, Slackware and FreeBSD are like seeing two sides of the same coin.
So here's a question back at you and anyone else who wants to answer it:
If everything is constantly done for you, how will you ever learn how to do things for yourself?
No, I do not like when distros do everything for me which is why I started with slackware 8.x back in the day as a learning environment. I've learn alot of linux from using slackware.
Like I said in my earlier post, I have no issues about compiling software and resolving their dependencies. My only gripe was going from website to website to download the packages I needed.
My only gripe was going from website to website to download the packages I needed.
That isn't what you said before. Nonetheless, lets talk about this. You have said you are aware of Slackbuilds and other good repositories such as Alien BOB's. How far and wide do you really have to travel to get the majority of your software?
Is there really a problem here that needs fixing here? If you haven't run Slackware for a few versions perhaps you should try a more modern version and also try the popular third party software sources (in their current form), along with associated tools (e.g. sbopkg) before casting judgement.
That isn't what you said before. Nonetheless, lets talk about this. You have said you are aware of Slackbuilds and other good repositories such as Alien BOB's. How far and wide do you really have to travel to get the majority of your software?
Is there really a problem here that needs fixing here? If you haven't run Slackware for a few versions perhaps you should try a more modern version and also try the popular third party software sources (in their current form), along with associated tools (e.g. sbopkg) before casting judgement.
Yes I did, in post #38 above in the middle paragraph. Before I was aware of those two websites. I did go from website to website. For example I went to freshmeat.net, sourceforge and other developer's website for packages and libraries.
Anyway, I was just reflecting my early experiences with slackware from version 8.x to 10.x. I am planning to revisit slackware again soon. I know I still have to download the packages myself but at least I don't have to go to many websites as before.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.