The reference
distribution for this book, and my preferred distribution, is
Debian GNU/Linux, the Linux for
the GNU Generation.
I originally started with Slackware
in 1993 but migrated through Red Hat
and then quickly on to Debian in 1995. Red Hat is a good distribution
and is quite popular but has limitations which, admittedly, are being
addressed. However, Debian fundamentally conforms to the open and
distributed development model making it a very open distribution where
even you can make a change to it if you so desired. Debian is the
basis of a number of commercial distributions and it also powers quite
a few web sites including Linux.com.
Gentoo is an interesting, newer
distribution, primarily for development workstations at the bleeding
edge, using a model of compiling source for the installation rather
than being a binary distribution. However, the same functionality is
available in Debian through the wajig build command and
appropriate tuning of /etc/apt/apt-build.conf.
Distributions based on Debian GNU/Linux are listed at
http://www.debian.org/misc/children-distros and include:
- GNUstep
- GNUstep is a LiveCD that contains a lot of software
for GNUstep, a free implementation of the OPENSTEP framework (which
was also the base of Cocoa in Mac OS X). Display Postscript is one
of its powerful features. It includes an excellent application
called Gorm for RAD (Apple Software Design Guidelines). It is
available from http://www.linuks.mine.nu/gnustep/
- Hardened
- Debian Hardened is a project that brings to Debian
GNU/Linux high security and hardening features, hardened kernels nad
packages (Stack Smashing Protector + PIE compiled), the DHKP and
linux entropy pool enhancements (and the LTRNG) for strong
cryptography. It is available from
http://sourceforge.net/projects/debianhardened.
- Knoppix
- The Knoppix LiveCD distribution is based on Debian and
allows one to run Debian without installing it! Just boot from the
CD-ROM and Debian will run from there. If you decide to then
install Debian, you can do so from the Knoppix CD-ROM. Knoppix works
on most but not all hardware, trying its best to automatically
identify hardware and set things up appropriately. See
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html.
- Libranet
- Linux by Libranet packages commonly used applications
onto an easy to install CD and includes, for example, Gnome. See
http://www.libranet.com.
- Linex
- A Debian-based distribution being developed by the
regional government of Extremadura (Spain) with the goal of
migrating all the computer systems, from government offices, to
businesses to schools into Linux.
- UserLinux
- Based on Debian GNU/Linux, UserLinux provides
businesses with freely available, high quality GNU/Linux operating
systems accompanied by certifications, service, and support options
intended to encourage productivity and security while reducing
overall costs. Their i386 install CD is only 4.5 MB large, with the
remainder downloaded directly from Debian mirrors. The project is led
by long-time open source advocate Bruce Perens. See
http://www.userlinux.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl.
- Morphix
- Morphix is a modular LiveCD derived from Knoppix, with
install images for Games, Gnome, KDE, and LightGUI. It is available
from http://www.morphix.org.
- TuxTops
- This distributor of laptops pre-installs Debian
GNU/Linux on their laptops. See http://www.tuxtops.com/.
- Ubuntu
- Ubuntu is a distribution based on Debian and features
GNOME 2.8 and is available for the x86, AMD64, and PowerPC
architectures. It is a complete desktop Linux operating system,
freely available with both community and professional support. The
Ubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Ubuntu
Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge, that
software tools should be usable by people in their local language
and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the
freedom to customize and alter their software in whatever way they
see fit. See http://www.ubuntulinux.org/.
You may also be interested in other distributions including
TimeSys for embedded real time GNU/Linux
(http://timesys.com/). See Section 4.1.1 for an
example using a LiveCD.
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