I've been using Linux for more than 4 years now. I've tried many of them, Redhat, Fedora and Kubuntu being the mainstream ones. I do not designate myself as a "Power User", but i can find my ways relatively easily, lest Google and LQ cease to exist.

Recently my Hard Disk went through a crash and i had to come up with a totally new Dual Boot system. I installed Kubuntu (which i loved), but have been wanting to upgrade to a newer distro. And here i am confused between choosing Debian and Slackware. I've heard in the Linux circles that both are highly stable Distros. However i see fewer and fewer Slackware folks around(forgive me... this could well be an illusion because i've only been visiting ubuntu/kubuntu sites for quite a while). Is that true that slackware is on the downtrend(i may again be wrong!!)? By "downtrend", i mean, should i be expecting fewer updates and delayed upgrades of slackware systems? Debian is due to release Lenny this year. (Oh i've also seen that Slackware fans are utterly loyal... most of who had migrated to slackware never reportedly switched!!!)

My main concerns would be ease of use in the sense of good package management/repository and dedicated forums to go to in case required. (with regards to package management i've seen that probably RPM has a slight edge over DEB considering the fact that i've seen plenty packages that come only in RPM format, though this does not mean i am considering moving back to any RedHat based system)

Thanks...

Any attempt to encourage a blanket comparison between two or more distros is simply flame bait, and unworthy of discussion. Modern computers have plenty of room for two distros. Set up a dual boot system and draw your own conclusions.

it seems the other way around to me, there seems to be more and more people trying slackware all the time, the slack forum here on LQ's is very active.

slackware 12 came out in july of last year (i think), and 12.1 is ready to go literally any time now, so if you are thinking of trying it, you should maybe wait a week or two, thats the impression i get from the guys on the slack forum anyway.

pkgtool is the package system, and it works very well from the commandline, although pkgtool doesnt track dependancies (there maybe other tools that can, im not sure, you'd need to ask, but i like installing everything myself, dependancies included) there are also slackbuild scripts which can automate the process of package building from source, and are a really good idea, a few sites supply these scripts. or ofcourse you can build your own packages. there are also 3rd party software repositorys, like www.linuxpackages.net. the full install includes alot of programs to start with.

i love slackware, its great, but a word of warning, there is a short (steep-ish) learning curve, for example you first boot into a black console, not a desktop environment like KDE or Gnome. but type 'startx' and one of those should come up.

slackware encourages you to learn linux at the commandline level, but this can take time, so if you do try it be prepared to read and ask questions.

I've not seen a larger software repository than Debian has anywhere.. Debian has what like 24,000 packages in it's repository now ? RPM's are why I LEFT RedHat.. Always searching for dependencies (I'm sure a lot of that has been fixed by now.. it's been several years)

Debian has pretty much anything I need or want available in the package repository.. I've rarely if ever had to compile an application.

I'd say you are mistaken on this point.

Slack and Gentoo can get pretty much anything as well through their package management systems.. no RPM's needed there either.

Thats not a problem. I've done that in my RedHat 7.3 days when i'd gotten instruction to install a Linux system on phone! I've moved much beyond those adolescent Linux years now... so i should be able to cope up with such minor difficulties.

Ditto here. Thats the primary reason i am apprehensive about slack (or rather its package management). Dependency hell used to take up a long time to resolve and the main purpose of the installation used to get delayed.

yep, this is the thing. i try and use gtk+2 based software where ever i can, over QT or python or whatever, for 2 reasons, GTK2 apps usually have few deps other than essential dependancies, and i just like the plain look of gtk2 over QT/python/etc anyway.

95% if you install stuff the right way in slackware you won't have alot of dependencies. If you don't install stuff the right way, then have a good day trying to figure out the dependencies

Try Debian before Slackware.

Debian has better package management and scripts (if you like things automated), but compiling from source tells you exactly what you are missing but you have to find them yourself.

A couple of days back I installed a Slackware 12.0 system. I wanted to do Debian first, but the installation disks are still some time to come by. The intention was to test out both of them. But after having a taste of Slackware, i am doubtful about that. I had once built a LFS system and enjoyed working on it. I am getting a feeling that Slackware comes close to that. Unless some problem gets me on my nerves(time for which i suppose may not come unless i am asking at the right forums), i would probably not switch. I had a few initial glitches, but #slackware channel on IRC helped me get over them. Thanks to #Slackware and LQ.

If you are confortable with kubuntu, you won't be lost in debian, even if slackware is a great distro and whether it is better of worse than debian.
Anyway, in reagrds to other posts, I must mention swaret in slackware for automatic dependancies management and upgrade. It's different from apt-get but it has some of its functionalities.

slack, debian, meh what is in a name would a rose be any different by any other name?

in other words it does not matter what distro you choose. i like debian, i HATE the *buntu line and yes *buntu is based on debian as it is nothing more then a fork.

that is preference nothing more. one is NOT better then the other, they are both Linux.

i have never tried slack, but know a few people who will use nothing but. meh. each to their own. play with them and see what one you like better.

Debian or Slack? Definitely!!