Slackware vs. Debian?
 

My goal is to learn more about Linux.
I've been using Ubuntu for about 1.5 years and I'm still a useless n00b. As far as learning about Linux all signs point to Slack but I hear Debian has all the advantages of slack plus a package manager. I don't know that I'm patient enough to dink around with dependencies all day so is Debian the light at the end of the tunnel for me?

Or if there's any other distro that has an easier learning curvethan slack I'd like to know.
Thanks in advance

Debian is similar to Ubuntu but a bit less hand holding.. Ubuntu is based off of Debian after all.

you learn more by doing or experimentation..., so you really need to come up with specific thing you want to learn.. or projects you want to complete. that's where most of my learning gets done.

The distribution is really irrelevant imho, other than some do less hand holding than others (no gui configuration tools, etc.. )

Try both, then choose one. Educated decisions and all that... ;)

you can try with virtual machine and so u try both. and choose one of them.

Why choose one? You can happily use both..

If you want to learn, go Gentoo. It has portage, portage is aptitide on steroids.

Yes, everything is from source, but everything builds with your machine in mind. Think of it as you're very own custom install.

Debian is the light at the end of the tunnel for everyone....

Gentoo is a fine distro, but portage is not "aptitude on steroids" by any stretch of the imagination.

@BlocknBleed - the virtual machine approach is a good idea. Install VirtualBox or VMware on your Ubuntu machine, and then install Slack or Debian or Gentoo as a vm and play with it a bit. As others have said, however, the distro is not the key to understanding Linux. A different idea might be to read. There are tons of great free tutorials online and lots of good books in the stores. I like the little book Linux Phrasebook by Scott Granneman, but there are plenty of others out there.

Hi,


As other said, you could use both and decide for one according with your experiences, if you don't want to install anything, try liveCDs, or use virtual machines, there are plenty of ways just to test something and decide.

If you really want to learn about the system from the bones, then use of LSF :P

And portage it's not 'aptitude' on steroids, not even close, you could say probably '*BSD ports + extras' but not apt



Regards

I would not go about comparing Slackware and Debian, they differ from each other and in the same time are similar (the same way any Linux distribution resembles each other to some extent). Mainly it's their barebones structure that differs. Slackware has a package manager too, like any other Linux distribution (those that don't have any, don't let you install nice packages at all - you just have to compile from source, and that's it), and if you like, you can have a program to automatically check the internet reposity for updates and install them.

The only sane way for you to get the picture of the two, so you can "compare" them in some way (namely just: "which one suits me better?") is to install them both, use them both long enough (say a few months at least to get the grasp) and then consider which one is better for you.

Can't go wrong with either one!

I've used both for a long time - Debian has many packages available for install to cover most, if not all needs.

I tried to keep Slackware 9 and 10 up to date, but ran into upgrade problems eventually, with each one. Also, I got tired of manually editing files to make wireless, or automount, or video cards work. And, since Slackware went to KDE, there was no point in staying with it any longer - I much prefer Gnome.

Debian Lenny seems to have reached an updating maturity that makes dependency resolution a breeze. I haven't had a problem in over three years keeping Debian in a testing state.

I use both Slackware and Debian and they are outstanding distros. You can't go wrong with either of them. I also like FreeBSD. As previously mentioned I suggest that you read up on the material that is on this forum. There are very helpful tips here that'll guide you through initial set-up for Slackware and Debian.

I would also say:
Use 'em both.
I wouldn't give up either one of them.
If you install slack first and Debian 2nd, the Debian grub boot loader will normally pick up Slack. You may have to touch-up the menu.lst a little but I know you'll be happy with both of them.
Theres not much that Debian wont do. Slack will inspire you to "get under the hood".

Debian by far is what you want. Listen, after years of distro hopping, I've found my home. You know what you want? You want a distro that works! And Debian is the one. Once you get your system up and running, then you can fart around with other distros just to see how they work and what they have to offer. But you should at least start off with an OS that works and Debian is the one.

You can go with Etch/Stable which uses older BUT stable apps - highly recommended. Nothing wrong with having app 1.0 as opposed to app 1.2. If folks can and are still using XP which is 5 or 6 years old, whats wrong with using an app that was introduced 6 mos. ago? Nothing! With Etch/Stable you have a rock solid OS.

Or you can use Lenny/Testing which can give you a few headaches (but nothing you can't overcome).

If you really want to jump in boots first, give Sid/Unstable a shot. A real hair puller and exciting but not recommended.

No Sir, I would definitely go with Debian if for nothing else but the package manager. Nothing, but nothing, beats apt-get/Synaptic for installing, removing, and searching for apps.

Some will tell you that for learning Linux, Slackware is the one. Well, I for one will tell you that's it Debain. No matter what branch you pick.

Since you've already used Ubuntu (great distro by the way) you know the value of apt-get/Synaptic. Now is the time to try the granddaddy - Debian.

Debian Forever!

P.S. Check out the link below my name. Chock full of useful Debian tips and hints. Will make your conversion to Debian easy.