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General discussion

Learning Linux: What is the difference beetween Linux clones

Apr 19, 2011 11:42PM PDT

Hi there.I'm just starting with Linux and learn with unixacademy DVDs. The traning comes bundled with bunch of Linux installations. I tried few and when installed can't see much diference between them. Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian and openSUSE are very easy to install. It takes only few clicks. However after the installation is completed, beside thier "welcome" screens I can't find much difference. They all look the same to me. I'm sure there's must be a difference deep down. Can someone tell, if programs from one Linux are compartible with another? Can I take a program from. let say, Ubuntu and run it in Fedora?

Discussion is locked

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About
Apr 20, 2011 10:28PM PDT

The only types of Linuxes are Debian and Red Hat.

Red Hat uses RPM (Red-Hat Packet Manager), Debian is APT-GET.

Red Hat spin offs...
Fedora, Mandriva, SuSE and so on.

Debian spin offs...
Slackware, Ubuntu/Kubuntu and so on.

If you are good enough you can fiddle with the packets and use one and fit it on other. But as my expertise goes, is way to hard.

Linux uses what people calls now an App Store for more than 10 years. Is called repository. They are several around the world tailored for each distro.

On the Mandriva world is called URPMI (pick and choose the repositories or let the system decide for you) and most Debian based use Synaptic. The same way the Android OS does.

Some Linux distros are really for the hardcore user without any restrictions and freedom to mess with it with absolute control. Those are the hardest one to use and configure like Gentoo. Some are tailored for just the user that just want to use Linux like you would with your smart phone.

So depending what type of user you are you pick the distro that you like.

Linux is not the Desktop Environment, is just a Kernel.

GNOME and KDE are the most popular ones, others are Enlightenment, Ice, LXDE, Moblin, etc... Each distro uses one as a default, Mandriva is KDE, Red Hat is GNOME as an example. Some distro like Mandriva install both or more and you can pick and choose on one install which Environment you want to use at logon.

I hope this helps.

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Debian and Redhat!
Apr 21, 2011 4:42AM PDT

"The only types of Linuxes are Debian and Red Hat."

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Yes
Apr 24, 2011 1:15AM PDT

The very basics boils down to 2, but the rest of distros are Spin Offs the developers make their own tweaks.

If you want to point to a new user giving to much detail can be overwhelming. What most people are concern is once the distro is installed, how Applications are installed or how I use it.

As an analogy, is like having 2 cars, one is Right Hand and the other is Left Hand steering. They all drive the same, manufacturers place all the buttons and levels on different places but in essence still 2 cars (with the occasional highly modified single seater).

Once you get the hang of it, you start to see other differences but at the 1st glance, they seems like 2 types.

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Debian and Slackware
Apr 22, 2011 8:33PM PDT
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re: the difference beetween Linux clones
Apr 22, 2011 1:38AM PDT
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RE
May 4, 2011 8:50PM PDT

So what's about applications that are not "packaged", just compiled binaries? I can't see why they wouldn't run if the kernel is the same.

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They run offen
May 5, 2011 12:54AM PDT

Yes they run, but sometimes not because depend on different libs.

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re: They run often
May 14, 2011 4:24AM PDT

but why they should have different libraries if they use the same Linux kernel?

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Hmm
May 15, 2011 4:20AM PDT

Same things are like on windows. Some games need DX9 others DX10, so on Linux some programs need one lib version and others other. Just on Linux there are thousands of libs for various tasks. But package managers can deal with this automatically, no need even to know what exactly you have.

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Lib Compatibility?
May 18, 2011 11:01PM PDT

Aren't newer versions of the libraries are backward compatible? It should prevent library incompatibility as we discuss...

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sometimes yes sometimes no
May 19, 2011 7:41PM PDT

backward compatible libraries are large and slow. Not liked on Linux. Linux with all programs can fit on CD. It is not 12 Gb OS with all stuff back to 1992 installed.

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12gb vs compatibility
May 25, 2011 9:21PM PDT

disk space is very cheap. I don't care if takes 12gb but allows running older apps and keeps my possibilities open. BTW Linux distro is not much smaller with most distros full DVD of 4.7Gb for each 32-bit and 64-bit. I have also OS X that is not smaller than Windows. These that fit into CD are restricted: I tried.

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Not only size matters
May 25, 2011 9:29PM PDT

Not only size matters speed too. And speed is the most important.

And it is not that hard to create distribution with correct versions of everything and write software to handle updates of all this without breaking stuff. That is archived on Linux.

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..and
May 25, 2011 9:30PM PDT

>BTW Linux distro is not much smaller with most distros full DVD of 4.7Gb for each 32-bit and 64-bit
And they have all programs even office suite inside those gb not only card game and paint like windows in full DVD.

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Backward compatible.
Jul 11, 2011 11:14AM PDT

Libraries are usually backward compatible. For example, on Ubuntu 11.04 I can still run Return To Castle Wolfenstein (2005, wasn't it?). There are limits and occasionally API breaks that cause non-backwards-compatibility, but with API breaks you can usually install the older library alongside the newer library if you need it.

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hmm not really
Jul 13, 2011 7:44PM PDT

>For example, on Ubuntu 11.04 I can still run Return To Castle Wolfenstein (2005, wasn't it?).
Just because its Linux version is with almost all libraries inside its files. Also there are some issues with sound ant they are solved with emulation so not visible to end user.

Now big work is going on this game code to make it first class Linux citizen. Wink
Project is called OpenWolf:
http://www.assembla.com/spaces/xreal-et/wiki

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hmm not really
Jul 17, 2011 7:16PM PDT