Does LFS have a competitor like manually installing Fedora maybe? I have looked at the LFS manual and it is mostly a list of base applications to install with a little on the build environment. I need more of a method that is mostly on the build environment and not a huge list of base applications with some recommendations on compiler options.

I have read some of the Gentoo manual and I'm not interested in the novelty of installing over a network. The Slackware manual in my opinion is too superficial.
Is Arch any different? The arch manual looks the most informative but I'm getting the impression that the non full featured Distros are good for learning because you just can't rely on GUIs.

Edit: I don't doubt that I'm getting the wrong idea about minimalistic distros. They are not likely all that good for learning and not intended as such.Also I have discovered that LFS 5.0 is more detailed than 6.5. so this looks promising.

An extrapolation on the idea of LFS would be perfect if there is one.

Thanks in advance?

Hi,

What are you expecting to learn? Any specific area or just generally? You could start by learning more about the kernel. You need to remember that most manuals or books for a specific Gnu/Linux will be created to serve a broad audience. Therefore the subject matter will be minimal to any one area. Broadened when the author(s) feel there are needs to expand understanding.

I haven't looked at 'LFS' in years. When I did it was nothing more than a cookbook. Several good links in the below quotes to possibly help in some way;
I know that this has been said a lot 'If you use Ubuntu then you learn Ubuntu but if you use Slackware then you will learn Linux.' You can substitute Ubuntu with just about any GUI based Gnu/Linux.

Administration duties or expanding one's understanding will require you to select a Gnu/Linux that is open without layers that prevent/inhibit the user. You must learn to not depend on GUIs' to manage a system. A GUI does not enable the user to be fully aware of system level operations. You just learn the semantics of the GUI since the author is isolating the user thus insulating.

Just a few more links to aid you to gaining some understanding;



1 Linux Documentation Project

2 Rute Tutorial & Exposition

3 Linux Command Guide 

4 Bash Beginners Guide

5 Bash Reference Manual

6 Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide

7 Linux Newbie Admin Guide

8 LinuxSelfHelp

9 Utimate Linux Newbie Guide
10 Linux Home Networking
11 Virtualization- Top 10

The above links and others can be found at 'Slackware-Links'. More than just Slackware® links!

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There was actually a Lq post on it here http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...-system-15599/


I desire a small uncluttered O.S to see how things work ,an explanation from the file system on up. Compiling a minimal Linux installation is even better if the info is available. The LFS manual is 2% tutorial and 98% list of base applications and recommended compiler flags. I can understand the LFS manual but is needs so much paraphrasing and expanding that it is just an outline of search terms.

Maybe this link is better than LFS?http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~okeefe.../buildMin.html



If I can't find any comprehensive docs on "how to complile a minimal linux system" I think I'm better off studying how Linux boots form a hardware perspective of bit for bit.

Arch can be anything you want. If you want 100% command prompt then just don't install a window manager or modify your inittab file to boot to a prompt. If you want a gui then install a minimalist style. ( Oppenbox et cettera)

It is all up to you.....

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You could always install Debian via debootstrap. If you use the --variant=minbase flag, it will leave you with an install under 200MB, no kernel, no bootloader, no dhcp etc... Then you can chroot into it and complete your system.

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I'm thinking of building Gentoo form source code at the moment ,no binaries. As far as a manual goes Arch has a well detailed manual but it is in the Arch way. The Debian link is great.Thanks a lot for posting it. Most of my experience is based on Redhat influenced distros and Debian is definitely not like Redhat. I will most likely look into the Deb connection if installing Gentoo By source files fails.


Right now I'm researching how to compile a compiler and such. Any extra good links for that subject? The bootstrapping a compiler and the different stages it is compiled is confusing.


I went to this link after writing this post.http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/apds03.html

where this quote comes from

It's been a while since I've played with Gentoo, I simply don't have time to watch my whole system compile.

If you decide to go the Debian route, there is still plenty of source code to play with. While Debian isn't meant to be installed like a Gentoo system, every binary in the official repository should have an accompanying source package. apt-get is normally used to get and install binary packages, but it can also be used to compile and install source packages from the repository. Also there are other tools, such as apt-src, and apt-build. You could use apt-build world to recompile the entire system for optimization if desired.

Edit: Debian also has tools for dealing with source not in the repository, such as debhelper.

And while Arch Linux was mentioned, I have little experience with it, but Arch as their AUR which deals with source code.

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