283
top 18 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] thelastknowngod@lemm.ee 45 points 9 months ago

I set my mom up on slackware like 15+ years ago. She wouldn't have known how to break it if she tried.

[-] bigdog_00@lemmy.world 25 points 9 months ago

I feel out of the loop, what's Slackware?

[-] KISSmyOS@lemmy.world 66 points 9 months ago

The oldest Linux distro that's still maintained to this day.
With an extreme focus on the KISS principle (simplicity in design) and stability.
It basically still works the same way it did 30 years ago.

[-] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 53 points 9 months ago

With fewer floppy disks though.

[-] KISSmyOS@lemmy.world 11 points 9 months ago

The repos are still divided into Disksets, though.

[-] BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz 44 points 9 months ago

The linux distro you want to have on a usb stick if the apocalypse breaks out.

[-] Vilian@lemmy.ca 5 points 9 months ago

is it more stable than debian?

[-] interloper@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

No, unless stability is very little change.

[-] KISSmyOS@lemmy.world 13 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

This is what Debian's Stable name means: that, once released, the operating system remains relatively unchanging over time.

https://wiki.debian.org/DebianStability

[-] pete_the_cat@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago

One of the original Linux distributions. It was created in like 93 or 94.

[-] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 23 points 9 months ago

I'll just stick with Debian

[-] Crayphish@sh.itjust.works 17 points 9 months ago

This meme reads more like slackware won't do anything you want it to do...

[-] ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 9 months ago

I really want to try slackware but I've only used fedora and hear it's "difficult." Is there something you can use that handles dependancies for you? Iirc that was the reason I was holding off.

[-] KISSmyOS@lemmy.world 13 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

With Slackware, you install its entire repository (~15GB) upfront. This gives you a system with a lot of software pre-installed for a wide variety of tasks, and makes dependency resolution for the base system pointless - all dependencies are already installed.

Additional software is installed via Slackbuilds or community-maintained additional repos. Those work very similar to Arch's AUR: officially you are supposed to download, build and install packages manually using preconfigured build scripts with no dependency resolution, but tools that automate the entire process are available. And just like with the AUR, those tools aren't officially recommended, but they work and almost everyone uses them.

So while it's true that the default package manager in Slackware has no dependency resolution, that's irrelevant in practice.

One word of warning: While Slackware does work well out of the box, adjusting it to your needs is a more involved process than with other distros. Everything is done manually but it lacks the awesome documentation Arch has and includes some pitfalls due to lack of automation we're used to nowadays. For example, if you upgrade your kernel and reboot, it won't boot. Because you forgot to copy the new kernel into your EFI partition, regenerate the initramfs and point your bootloader to it. Every other distro's package manager recognizes a kernel upgrade and triggers those things automatically.

Slackware is easiest if you are a bit flexible in what you use and are fine with its default selection. If you want Gnome, best choose another distro. It's possible to build and set up, but not easily.
But once you've set everything up the way you like, it just stays that way forever and there is almost no work needed to maintain it.

this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2023
283 points (94.9% liked)

linuxmemes

19842 readers
1115 users here now

I use Arch btw


Sister communities:

Community rules

  1. Follow the site-wide rules and code of conduct
  2. Be civil
  3. Post Linux-related content
  4. No recent reposts

Please report posts and comments that break these rules!

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS