Distributions' differences

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Tue, Aug 19, 2003 at 08:11:42AM -0400, Phillip Mills wrote:
> Over the years I've used only a few different Linux distributions.  Can 
> anyone summarize differences in substance or style among most of what 
> exists?  ...perhaps a website that compares or describes the most 
> likely audience for the various types...especially in terms of how 
> technically adept the user/admin needs to be?

Well main differences that matter are:

Installer (some are friendly, some have many features, some let you
choose everything, others give you what makes sense to many new users).

Package management (or lack thereof).  Some have full dependancy
checking, auto download from mirror sites, simple upgrades.  Some have
some of that but requrie you to download the packages yourself and then
install them.  Some have no dependancy handling and just put the files
on the drive for you.  Some use source code only.

Configuration and management:  Some have GUIs to "help" you with
everything, some have command line tools, some expect you to edit the
config files yourself.  Some allow multiple of those.

Default desktop:  Some come with a nicely configured ready to use
desktop environment, some have multiple choices of desktops, some ave
none.  Some force you to have one, some let you choose, and some just
don't give you anything.

Release cycle:  Some distributions release every X months, sometimes
even if they aren't fully tested.  Some only release when they are done
(even if it takes years between releases).  Some have multiple levels of
release that you can choose from, from very stable to leading edge but
not fully tested.

As for what is best, that depends on the user's experience level, how
low level into the nit picky stuff they like to get, and how much
control they expect to have over things.  Some are very efficient time
wise for admins who need to admin many machines, possibly remotely, and
can be managed quickly and simply using ssh only.  Others are more like
windows and need to you run X applications to change settings (unless
you know what file to edit and what the exact syntax is.)

Which distribution fits what is also arguable (and people do argue about
it.)

Lennart Sorensen
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