What are the implications of using one linux distribution over another?
 

What are the implications of using one Linux distribution over another?

Hello and welcome to LQ.

A distro usually is a collection of programs, a somewhat unique kernel, target audience, target hardware and a way to keep it up to date.

So for a very basic point of view, any of those features could impact your use.

I don't have any experience on other distro except Ubuntu. I am curious about knowing different implication of using one distro over another. For an example what are the implication of using Ubuntu over debian/CentOs/RedHat/fedora etc?

init systems? mmm some have one thing and the other does not in the initial install where you got a install it yourself.

Hi BW-userx,

Can you please be more precise with an example so that It will be easy for me to understand your points.

I do not think so that is a very vague question as it is.

implications: defined-
the conclusion that can be drawn from something, although it is not explicitly stated.

Distrowatch lists 288 distributions.

Here is some reading material that might help.

http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._distributions

I'm not sure what you mean by "implications." Mostly it's a matter of what the user is most comfortable with or wants to accomplish (e.g., server vs. workstation).

The primary differences among distros are the init (startup) system, the package management system, and the default desktop environment.

For along time, most distros used SystemV, but many have shifted or are shifting to SystemD. Slackware uses BSD style scripts.

The two major package management formats are *.rpm and *.deb. OpenSUSE, Mageia, and Red Hat and its derivatives use the RPM formant. Note that Mageia and OpenSUSE formats differ slightly from Red Hat formats; the three formats are not cross-compatible. Their package managements include dependency checking--that is, if a program requires (or depends on) other programs in order to run, the package management program installs the "dependencies." Slackware uses a tgz format and does not offer dependency resolution, but third-party package management programs are available, primarily sbopkg.

The default desktop is not a major consideration, in that, regardless of the default, you can install and run the desktop environment/window manager of your choice, assuming you have enough memory (1GB RAM and you need a really light-weight environment; 2GB is acceptable for most environments; 3GB or more seems to be the sweet spot to able able to run any DE). Slackware comes with six environments to choose from and, if you wish, to switch among, out of the box. The primary ones are KDE and Gnome. Ubuntu has it's own default, Unity, but I understand that they will be switching to Gnome v. 3 in the future.

One other thing: Some distros have longer release and end-of-life cycles. Red Hat and CentOS, have among the longest, as they are heavily used in the Enterprise, where updating infrastructure is a costly and complex procedure. Debian and Slackware tend to have new versions every two years or so, but their schedule is "it will be released when it's ready." Fedora and Ubuntu are on the other extreme: six months between new version release. I tend to prefer stable over bleeding edge--I've not yet encountered a situation in which I had to have the most recent version of a program to accomplish my goals.

That's just a few thoughts off the top of my head.

You can easily use a search engine to find more information about the items I've mentioned.

Welcome to LQ. tho you marked this solved, 1 more 'concept':
http://linuxvoice.com/build-your-own-linux-distro (or this as an extreme)
&from my fav distro (see 'BYO' at bottom): http://nutyx.org/en/documentation