Hi!

Slackware and debian which one is the best for server and desktop?How about Gentoo?

I just looked at your posting history. Given the various things you have done (and discussed here), your question really surprises me.

Yesterday, you were talking about various Unix flavors, and now--5 minutes after starting this thread--you're asking about SUSE on VMWare.

My advice would be to get some kind of focus on what you are trying to accomplish.

As for your question, the answer is "neither"---there is no such thing as the "best" Linux----for any application.

3 members found this post helpful.

debian is easier than slackware and u will find many many precompiled packages for debian for every program you may think of
debian and slackware are the best hardware detectors specially slackware.my experience with slackware..it ran on a Fujitsu Siemens laptop on which no other distribution could run..debian detected my usb modem out of the box without configuration..
with Gentoo ..I think things will be harder u will have to make everything by yourself but I think it is more suitble for server use
check this out
http://distrowatch.com/
http://distrowatch.com/search.php

I will agree with pixellany words. However I think you should try the Oracle VirtualBox.

Oracle VM VirtualBox is a virtualization software package, try every disto you want to try, and see for your self which one is the best for you

J.A.X

BEST is the distro that does what you want and need it to do.

There is no "best" distro. Some prefer Ubuntu, other Slack, or Debian or etc.

Pick any of the top 20 on distrowatch and have fun.

You will never know which is "best" for you until you start using one.

My suggestion would be to install Virtualbox on whatever system you are running now and download several distros and try them out.

This is a subjective question and is more like of a personal choice which one is better. As @pixellany and @craigevil pointed out, you can try them all and decide which one of them is the best distro for you.

For example, for me the best one is gentoo but that doesn't mean that it is the best distro to someone else.

Cheers

@ llmi187

Debian and slackware are two excellent distros and you can't go wrong with either one of them.

As pixellany said, best is what works for you. I've tried many of the top distros in distrowatch and the less known distros. Arch linux is my distro of choice not because it's the best, it just works best for me.

If you want to have late nights, swear, cuss and generally want to kill the neighbours cat then Slackware is for you.

If you want have an easier time than above then Debian is for you - this doesn't mean you will be immune from the activities listed above though.

Having said this, both are good and it's for you to decide what you are comfortable with and fits your particular use.

1 members found this post helpful.

That's bull, don't listen to this guy.

It depends on what you desire to do. I have used both Debian stable and Slackware (release). Debian makes very easy to install new packages, while Slackware it is not hard, but is slightly harder. If you so desire to upgrade a package to a newer version on these distros, in my experience this is a lot easier to do in Slackware than Debian. (i hate dpkg)

Here's some links that you might find interesting. You should make what you will from them, but always remmeber that the official Slackware forums are unlike other distros, here at LQ, so that may influence the results.

Desktop
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...e-year-919878/

Server
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...e-year-919880/

I agree with Knightron--this statement is less than accurate. Slackware doesn't automate dependency resolution, but I always viewed that as a way to learn. And the growth of Slackbuilds.org has made installing additional additional software much easier than it was when I started.

As for choosing between Debian and Slackware, I can't. They are both rock-solid and stable. You can't go wrong with either of them.

I tend to slightly favor Slackware, but Debian is my other favorite (I'm typing this on the Debian machine that doubles as my home file server).

I guess from one point of view you might say I favor Slackware 2 1/2 to one, since I have two Slackware machines, a Salix machine (that would be three, but slapt-get subtracts half a point), and only one Debian machine . . . .

YMMV but I had late nights, swear, cuss and really wanted to kill my neighbours (not their cat) BECAUSE of Debian's apt-get automatic dependency solution.
Both distros are great but debian's advantages definitely don't lie in apt-get (IMHO)

It's almost always worked for me (I say almost because I've had some issues recently with VirtualBox and apt, but I haven't taken the time to sort them out yet). Just for curiosity, examples?

I used to like and use Debian. I've had issues with apt too, but all my issues with apt stem back to dpkg. Ever tried to install a package and ignore a dependency? Next time you go to try install something with apt, it will automatically install the dependency again. It's a small thing, but it's enough to drive me crazy. I only want to stipulate --ignore-depends once, not every time i desire to use the package manager afterward.

It was kinda toungue-in-cheek but nevermind...

Moved: This thread is more suitable in Linux - Distributions and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.