Slackware Linux FAQ

What is Slackware Linux?

Slackware Linux is a gnu/linux release developed by Patrick Volkerding. Unlike many other distributions, it insists on the principle of kiss (Keep it Simple stupid), which means that there is no graphical interface tool for configuring the system. Initially, there are some difficulties in configuring the system, but more experienced users will appreciate the transparency and flexibility of this approach.

Another salient feature of Slackware Linux is also in line with the KISS principle: Slackware does not have a mature package manager such as RPM. Slackware packages are the usual tgz (tar/gzip) format files plus the installation scripts. TGZ is more powerful for experienced users than RPM, and avoids the dependency problems of managers such as RPM. Slackware also has a well-known feature of BSD-style initialization scripts. Slackware uses the same script for all run levels (RunLevel)/tasks, rather than creating a bunch of script links at different run levels. This allows you to easily adjust the system without having to write a new script yourself.

Slackware Linux hard to learn?

Slackware's learning curve is a bit steeper than most distributions, and you have to be prepared to spend a lot of time. Once you start to understand this release, you'll probably find it easier to tweak than many other distributions. Cooking For example: microwave ovens are easy to do. You put things in the microwave and wait a few minutes to do it. Without a microwave, you need more training, and you have to be familiar with ingredients and cooking skills. But once you learn how to cook, it's easy to make a much better meal than a microwave.

Where can I get Slackware Linux?

There are several ways to get slackware. First, you can download from the FTP mirror site. A list of mirrored stations can be found in the Slackware Web site: www.slackware.com. Although Slackware is available for free, buying official CDs is also a good idea. Patrick Volkerding spent a lot of time developing Slackware, buying official CDs and you're supporting slackware development.

What is the system requirements for Slackware Linux installation?

It depends on how you plan to use Slackware. A 486 of 16M of RAM is just right to run XFREE86 and lightweight x programs with a lightweight window manager, such as Blackbox or Windowmaker. Such a machine is enough to do a simple Web server or FTP server. A machine with less memory (for example, 8M) can also be used as a router or firewall. The heavyweight desktop environment of KDE and GNOME requires a faster machine, at least the Pentium level of 32M RAM, but if you want to do something more useful, you probably need 64M of memory. The advantage of Linux is that programs like VI, GCC, and Apache can run fast on old machines as well. Most other distributions also have these software, but the heavy installation and configuration tools make it very painful to run Linux on old machines. It is not recommended to run the latest Slackware on 386 machines, although in some FTP stations older versions of Slackware (even back to 1994) can run well on 386. The message of this passage is somewhat outdated, but still has reference value.

is Slackware a source-based distribution?

Unlike Linux from scratch or Gentoo, you do not have to compile the entire system. Proponents of the above version believe that they can get a dramatic increase in speed through, for example, CPU optimization. In fact, the speed of the increase is very small, in addition to a few programs (such as MPEG-2 decoder, but also may be KDE, such as desktop environment), you may not feel (increase speed). Slackware is generally compiled, but if you need you can also use the Slackware source code and compile scripts to compile the various parts. The advantage of Slackware is that you don't have to compile the entire system to have more flexibility and are likely to get a more stable system (because some optimizations can be bad) compared to the source distribution.