Been reading a bunch of slackware threads, and I think its convinced me to switch over (I was pretty much on the fence til now). I'm not exactly totally proficient with linux yet but I think I've moved past the newb phase.

But before I do, I want to ask a few questions so I know that I'm not digging myself in too deep. For reference, I've used only Debian (plain Debian, not Ubuntu) and a couple days of Mandriva up til this point.

1. To keep from overcomplicating everything, I'm going to install my partitions as follows (2x 320 GB harddrives): first HD: 2gb swap, 318 as /. Second HD: 320 gb /home, all in ext4. Is this an okay partition setup for a user who isn't exactly a linux elite yet? Or should I work it a different way?

2. if software comes in .tar.gz, then the usual tar xvzf file.tar.gz, ./ configure/make/make install thing will work for it on any flavor of linux including Slackware, correct? I'm assuming software in source like that is never distro specific.

3. How are the Slackware software repositories, compared to rpm and deb ones? plenty out there?

4. I understand there's a tool for converting debs and rpms to lzm, called dir2lzm (or something like that, I can't remember). Does it work pretty well, or should I just stick to compiling source instead of converting package formats?

5. How does dependency resolution work? I know slackware won't automatically resolve them (unless using slapt-get, I think?), but will it tell me what packages I need to get to resolve my dependencies, and which ones are absolutely required versus which are optional? If not, how can I tell?

6. I've seen conflicting answers on this one. Does Slackware's initial install tend to have mostly freshly up-to-date software, or is it all kept in slightly older but more stable versions, to maintain system stability?

7. Overall, what does Slackware offer to it's users that Debian and Mandriva don't? Does it have any big disadvantages?

Sorry for the huge post, but I'm trying not to jump in too blindly Thanks for any input.

Also, just out of curiosity, amongst hardcore Linux users (not necessarily dev types, but at least the people who know Linux well enough to answer more questions than they ask), from Slackware, Debian, and Mandriva, are any of the three not really taken 'seriously' as a strong distribution for serious users? Mandriva and Debian both have their ups and downs for me, but I think for me Slackware is going to be most of the ups from each one, with fewer of the downs.

thanks!

To answer some of your questions:
1. Sounds fair enough - having a separate /home partition will mean that you don't lose your data if you reinstall/switch distros. Depending on how much memory you have, you may not need such a large swap partition.

2. Slackware is very good for people who want/need to install from source. However, src2pkg (written by our own gnashley) will take your tarball and turn it into a slackpack.

3. Slackware doesn't really have a repository like that. Because it's more source friendly it doesn't need it. That said, become familiar with www.slackbuilds.org and once you have learned how to use slackbuilds you won't need to worry about repositories.

4. .....

5. Unless you use something like slapt-get, you will need to resolve dependencies yourself. Slackbuilds lists any dependencies for their packages and the error message after a manual source install (after ./configure) normally tells you if any programs are missing.

6. The initial install is fairly up to date, but like any install disc it is frozen at the release. So you will need to then update the install. After that, the programs are as up to date as you need them to be - you'll decide which programs and which versions to install.

7. Slackware offers full control and the feeling that you have the distro you want to have. Debian is also very good at this, but to have the same level of control, you need to mess about with apt and apt-pinning. Slackware does this out of the box. It also provides a very good learning experience.

However, all distros are Linux at base and any distro will give you control and a good learning experience.

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4. dir2lzm is a "Slax" distro specific program. Slax is a live CD that is based on Slackware. Vanilla Slackware doesn't use *.lzm packages and instead uses the *.tgz or *.txz packaging format (probably others too but don't know off the top of my head).

There is, however, rpm2tgz but I'm not familiar enough with it.

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Most Slackware software now comes with the .txz extension which has better compression than the .tgz extension. Pkgtool and slackpkg are good package managers. When you get to the point in the install where you're going to partition your disk I suggest that you use cfdisk (it is easier to use than fdisk). After you log in as root (after the install) at the command prompt type in fdisk -l, that will give you the partition names for your HD (it will show up as hda or sda). Let us say your HD is showing up as sda then the cfdisk command would be (logged in as root):

cfdisk /dev/sda

Check out the slackbook in my signature.

My only advice would be to give Slack a chance. By that, I mean give it several weeks at a minimum. I myself was a couple weeks in before I realized I liked it, and a month in before I decided I didn't want anything else.

My secondary advice would be that if you have a live distro with gparted laying around, it's easier to just pre-partition your disks. [c]fdisk take a little getting used to if you ask me.

For normal home use, that should be fine, but you don't need anywhere near that much in / if you don't want to, of course. For heavy multi-user/server stuff, you'd want something different, but your scenario should be fine.

I wouldn't say never, but practically never. Some things, particularly daemons, tend to expect an init system different from Slackware's, but Slack has compatibility links set up. For building from source, I'd suggest SlackBuilds.org and sbopkg.org (surprise) but most any way will work.

There are several but most Slackers recommend against binary repos and favor source repos.

Dunno about that one - there's rpm2tgz and it can work okay but, yeah, you'd be better off compiling one way or another.

Dunno about slapt-get - again, many Slackers don't favor it. For starters, you'd be better off doing a 'full' install, which the installer will suggest, too. Most dependencies should be taken care of. SBo can provide many more. The official Slackware dependency manager is you. You can run ldd on Slackware packages or just listen to any complaints from them if you do a partial install, and you can read the brief SBo READMEs for each package which list 'soft deps' and so on.

A bit of both, hence the conflicting answers. Slackware has the latest *that is compatible with stability*. Pat will often hold back on a new version of a package if it's not quite ready for primetime, and Slackware has many long-lived packages that may not have been updated recently, but such updates as there are, if stable, will be applied. Slack is pretty current, generally speaking.

This is a personal question and you'll just have to find out for yourself on that one.

I wouldn't worry about such things. Use what works for you and not what anybody else thinks is cool.

Very much agreed with hitest - check out the SlackBook and any other form of documentation you can find. Slackware and Slackers are very friendly to people who have done their homework. While you're not likely to get flamed to a crisp or anything for not doing so, you're not likely to have as much luck otherwise.

Welcome to Slack.

I would never use that much for / . IMO maybe 30GB if you are intent on installing a lot of software and use the remainder for storage.

As far as repos go: slackbuilds.org and the tool sbopkg (from http://www.sbopkg.org).

Try to keep away from tools like slapt-get that try to resolve deps imo, but that's just my opinion. You only need to read the READMEs on slackbuilds.org usually to know what is req'd.

Yes the software does tend to keep to stable branches, unless you are running -current.

like damgar said, if you dont want to use slackwares fdisk to partition your disks, you can always download partedmagic and boot that and use gparted. its the easy way but it works .

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As the others said Slackware is fairly up-to-date.

I'd just like to add that it's usually pretty easy to update a package yourself in Slackware. For example, say a new version of Seamonkey came out.

You could download the SlackBuild from Slackware's sources:
Replace the seamonkey source tarball with the latest one:
And run the SlackBuild (as root):
A Slackware package will be created in /tmp. You can install it with:
This usually works, but not always. Sometimes a newer version of software will fail to build because of new dependencies not satisfied by Slackware or other reasons.

1. " 318 as /" does that mean 318 GB ? if so, that's too much, I'd make it more like 10 GB max.

2. Slackware has .tgz packages that contain binaries and you install them with 'installpkg', but for other software, yes you have to compile it.

3. I would recommend slackbuilds over binary repos, but there do exist some.

4. You should compile packages rather that convert them. This is for your own good, because it's not guaranteed that the converted packages will work properly.

5. see answers above: the default is none, but if you want it there is an option.

6. Slackware always favors older staler versions of software, patched for security issues.

7. It offers stability, customization, and it's usually quite bug-free. Haven't tried 13.1 yet, maybe I will soon.

Well, I don't take Mandriva seriously, but Debian and Slackware and definitely up there, Gentoo as well. They each have their pros and cons, just pick the one that is closest to what you want and go from there. I mean the point is to start with a system that is as close as possible to what you want, then shape it into what you want. For me that is Slackware. Technically LFS would be the best distro in this respect, but it just takes too long to setup.

Oh, almost forgot, do read the slackbook, at least the install section before you install, this is to prevent any surprises along the way.

I've mentioned this in another thread when I was comparing Slackware and Debian, and it's a purely subjective point-of-view. Slackware gives me more incentive to learn and experiment than Debian. With Debian I always feel hidebound by "policies on this/that/and the other" and doing things "the Debian Way". Too much bureaucracy. It's a good distro, but doesn't suit me as much as Slackware. You could try dual-booting them?

Hi,

Welcome to Slackware!

You've been given a lot of useful advice by other members. I will add that you should look at the Slackware 'Mailing List Inf';

'slackware-security' would be the important list to subscribe too.

Just a few useful links to hopefully lead and help you to have a great Slackware experience;

Slackware® Essentials
Slackware® Basics
Linux Documentation Project
Rute Tutorial & Exposition
Linux Command Guide
Bash Reference Manual
Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide
Linux Newbie Admin Guide
LinuxSelfHelp
Getting Started with Linux

The above links and others can be found at 'Slackware-Links'. More than just Slackware® links!

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oh and I forgot: Happy Birthday dive

Thanks

Happy Birthday, dive! Enjoy your day, my friend!