Hi,
I am a Comp Sc. student working on GNU/Linux systems quite a while now.
I am thinking to be more serious about Linux and choose particular distribution to gain deeper understanding and contribute to it in some worthwhile manner.
Distributions I have already worked with:

• Fedora -5 to 12
• Ubuntu
• Debian Lenny(currently)

Open Source Unix like systems I have worked with:

• Free BSD

However i now want a linux distribution to fulfill these goals:
1.Learning: I want to gain much deeper understanding of Linux systems, so that I can modify them or tune them to some other project for eg. to the level of creating own distribution.
2.Compilation on site:I prefer more of compilation on site(bored with all those amazing apt-get and yum installers) so as to have more control and see what really is happening under the hood.
3.Good amount of documentation.
In brief something like building system for start, so as to aid both my Linux and Operating System's understanding and also have a decently workable system.
After quite amount of research from various sites(polish Linux,distrowatch,this forum,and zegiene studios) I finalized following list to choose from. Now I kindly request the members having same experience as that of mine to give their honest opinions and reason to choose them:

• Slackware
• Gentoo
• Linux From Scratch
• Arch Linux

P.S.
1.Sorry for length of post.
2.This is not for war or something like that among these distros but to choose best which meets my need.
3.Again the main concern is learning so I am ready for any hassles (can invest my summer vacations for that )

Arch (I have no logic---I just like the way it works. To steal from the Python folks: "it fits my brain.")

Any of those second ones are a good choice for what you want to do, but the best ones would be LFS and Slackware. Both of those distributions are all about the nuts and bolts of Linux, so you are going to learn a lot about how the whole OS works and what kind of freedom you have. Another advantage is that these distributions stay as close to the "vanilla" experience as possible; unless absolutely necessary, software will remain exactly as the developer intended it; rather than using distribution-specific patches or modification (something Ubuntu is known for).

While Slackware does have a package manager, it is extremely basic and in reality is not much more than a front-end for tar/gzip. Anything that doesn't ship on the disc will need to be built from source, which is generally done with scripts known as SlackBuilds. These scripts will build source packages into installable Slackware packages to make life a little easier. That way you have the advantages of a package manager (easier updates, clean uninstalls, etc) with the power that you get by building everything from source.

2 members found this post helpful.

Personally when I was ready to learn I went with Slackware with an eye on LFS (which I've now got booting, if not much else!). My reasoning was simple, Slackware is going to be up and running in a matter of minutes. Using it daily will get you fairly acquainted with linux basics since slack doesn't go out of it's way to hide things from you. Samba? Edit the file. Mount a partition? Edit the file. Etc. Plus a full install of Slack provides a perfect host system for building LFS, and running current keeps me on my toes.

I hear great things about Arch and Gentoo and will give them both some play time eventually, but so far Slack for daily use and LFS for learning (until maybe I get into BLFS).

Any of the distros you listed will be good for your goal though. Ultimately your own preferences will be the decisive factor.

2 members found this post helpful.

Hello, here is what I have experienced using these distro's:

Gentoo - Great documentation, primary package management uses source that compiles on site, also has binary packages available. It helps you understand the compilation process and how the internals of package management work.

Arch Linux - Similar to Gentoo, except binary packages are the primary and source compilation is achieved through the AUR (a system similar to Gentoo's ebuilds). Also has great documentation, but does not teach you as much as Gentoo does about GNU/Linux internals.

Slackware - The system initally comes pre-built, and allows for binary as well as source packages. You also have to compile your own kernels. I don't have as much experience with this one, so I'm not 100% sure about its details...

Linux From Scratch - LFS is an amazing teaching tool, that tells you exactly how the internals of a GNU/Linux system work and are built. You need to compile every single package manually, but the BLFS book and the CBLFS wiki tell you the commands to enter and explanations of what they do. There is no package manager, but the CBLFS has instructions on how to install some, such as nhopkg, pacman, rpm, as well as some more *odd* ways of managing your system's packages.

From what I understand about your situation, I would recommend LFS as long as you're up for a challenge. If you want something a little less daunting, try Gentoo, Arch, or Slackware.

2 members found this post helpful.

I vote for

SourceMage
http://www.sourcemage.org/

Sorcerer
http://sorcerer.silverice.org/

Calculate Linux Scratch (gentoo)
http://www.calculate-linux.org/main/en/cls

the ones above are pretty intense
Of course I wholeheartedly endorse both slackware and arch

from what all you mentioned you are looking for, I would have to give Gentoo or LFS my vote

1 members found this post helpful.

Thanks for all of your kind replies! Response was simply overwhelming 8O.
Now to further refine my search I have added a poll so please do poll your opinion.
Also I have further charted out following plan for summer (of learning :-)):
1.For backend(like to connect to net,video, host other os etc.,learning organized Linux distribution) - Gentoo/SlackWare
2.For long term learning(LFS - as a child project on the hosting OS.)
So LFS is definitely in. However for mother OS i am still confused between Gentoo and Slackware. However I kind of started liking Slackware , but Gentoo appears to have participation in Google's Summer of Code(its my dream of being part of it someday!).However please continue your unbiased opinions. Also any new options like those of given by Mr. Linus72 are also welcome. I shall also continue my research(including the new options) and will post them here.

From all the discussions above and my own research I believe I will be using slackware (+ LFS on it). The reasons are:
1.It is said to be quite simple and very close to vanilla version.
2.Gentoo appears to take long time to install and requires intense and continuous net connectivity(please correct me if i am wrong) which is simply difficult to achieve here.
3.Getting a faster/optimized linux is simply not my goal(as promised by Gentoo) but the one easier to understand and modify.
some other resources on this forums which I found useful are:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...gentoo-225661/
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...gentoo-232779/
http://www.osnews.com/story/12129/A_..._Gentoo/page2/

However I am still responsive to any further replies(as I shall begin work on these systems in summer vacations(still 23 days)). Also the references were pretty old so if any changes are there then please correct me.

FreeBSD is not Linux. You need to do some reading on this.
I don't see how you are a computer science student and wouldn't know this.
Have you tried OpenBSD or NetBSD?

The BSD systems, especially FreeBSD, can work with Linux binaries.

The distribution has little to do with the user's skills, it is a matter of personal preference.
If you want to learn more, then build a system from the base up.
Another thing you forget is that all architectures are not supported by all distributions. I'm assuming that you are only using the x86 and amd64 cpus.
Try arm, powerpc, sparc, etc. Try a machine that you need to do some work with before you have a GUI on it, if the system allows such.
Linux distributions have different package management systems, different configuration files for the same application, and different levels of inherent security or insecurity in some cases.

You could also try other UNIX type systems such as minix and plan9.

Go through different archives and look for UUU, exokernel, microkernel, assembly.

Thanks for reply Mr Bisquit(Although I am still waiting for your kind reply on my debian sound related thread )
Now this part I find little bit offending. I DO KNOW the difference b/w FreeBSD and various linux distributions. I think here you referred to my first post, where I inherently understood that readers might know the difference (still I shall edit it). For that matter I am quite well versed with their complete history (386BSD,BSD lite,the AT&T Bell lawsuit,origin of linux inspired from Tanenbaum's minix,infact I remember one of Linus Trovaldus statement'that if FreeBSD would have been there when he developed linux, he would not have created it(linux).')
Also I know very well about its(FreeBSD) derivatives like OpenBSD-for security,NetBSD-portability,PCBSD-for desktop/laptop users,Dragonfly...etc.etc. and even to some extent Mac OS X too.
I have tried FreeBSD(still on my laptop) and Mac OS X(on friend's ).
So kindly don't judge/underestimate a person's knowledge so soon. I might not be knowing as much as you but I do have my basics clear.
Now this was really helpful. As per architecture I want to be concentrated on x86,amd64 for while due to various reasons. Yes I am going to experiment some time with minix for some time in summer(while reading Tanenbaum's famous OS books ). But I do what to continue with study of linux systems simply because the have proved themselves succesful both commercially and technically despite how much other kernel architecture adherents(including Tanenbaum) might condemn. That's why I chose LFS. And as for other distributions as I mentioned before(Slackware,gentoo,arch),they are more challenging than lets say Ubuntu and also more close to vanilla version (as my thread title mentions)
I hope I clear my point. In no way I want to offend you and I do respect your sincere help. Please do continue kind guidance.

slackware is no way as hard as gentoo
and slackware and arch are kinda close...kinda

Slackware, for me, is very easy to understand, simplistic
and has pkgtool and slackpkg, which are also easy to use

I like all of them, but will say that slack and arch are more intermediate
while gentoo and lfs would be advanced

1 members found this post helpful.

Thanks for reply linus72.
You have given me further confidence in my choice:
Slackware(Intermediate)+LFS(advanced).
Also I saw your custom distro on sites you mentioned(and also on softpedia.)Exactly that kind of mastery I want at present i.e. rolling out my own distro or custom versions.
Its great to see my visions in reality.
Also,bit off topic, What does watchman-live have special for Christians( linux for christians ... ) It really appeared strange to me. Any of its special features?

Well, Watchman is likened after the Hal Lindsey show
http://www.hallindsey.com/

where instead of like a preaching he gives his views from bible prophecy
and how it ties in with current events in the world
He talks about alot of stuff that you'll never hear, even on Fox news, etc

For instance; a few weeks ago two christian missionaries were murdered in Florida by a
alleged Muslim gang member.( I say alleged as I have seen varying reports, some saying he was Muslim, others not)
http://saynsumthn.wordpress.com/2010...wn-in-florida/
This was not reported on any news programs I have watched, including fox news.

He also talks alot about Israel and how Bible Prophecy fits in with the coming War.

It doesnt have any "special" features; Bible software and such.

No mention of Crux?

As a Slacker, I've just tried out ArchLinux, which is pretty good. But I'm now going to install Crux which looks really attractive. It has an excellent handbook.

Absolutely "KISS" and not for novices.