If you are new to Linux or even someone who has been using it for a while you may have wondered what the difference is between the various - not to mention numerous - Linux distributions that are available. There are literally hundreds of different distributions you can chose from. If you want to explore almost every available Linux distribution check out www.distrowatch.com They keep up-to-date information on almost every release available.

Although there are hundreds of distributions they can be separated into four main categories based on the way packages are managed (or are not managed) in each.

1. RPM Based

RPM (Red Hat Package Manager) based distributions are the mostly widely used. They account for approximately 50% of total Linux distributions (unverified source). Some of the more popular RPM distributions are: Red Hat, Fedora, CentOS, Mandrake and SUSE. For more information on what RPM is and can do, see the Wikipedia article on RMP.

2. Debian

Debian based package management is handled by a powerful software tool called “apt” (Advanced Packaging Tool) Without digging too deep into apt, in short, it handles “.deb” files, installs and configures them. A simple command like apt-get install kde would install the entire KDE window management program and configure it for my system. Some of the more popular Debian distro’s are Debian (the original), Ubuntu, Knoppix and Linspire.

3. tar.gz based

G-zipped tar-balls are used as the primary installation source for installing and upgrading packages on some Linux distro’s. Managing a system using this type of installation source is usually reserved for advanced users. Although a package manager is used (generally pkgtool) it doesn’t check for dependencies. If you want to install software that needs other software to make it work, the system administrator is responsible for making sure the required dependencies are installed. The most popular distribution of this type is Slackware.

4. Source (all packages are complied from source code)

Linux distro’s that compile packages from source are often used by only the most “hardcore” users that want to control every aspect of system configuration and installation. The benefit is complete system control but the downside the time it takes to install packages. Because each package is installed from source code it has to be complied before it can be used. If you want to become a Linux expert (or already are one) then source code-type Linux distro’s are the best way to go. The most popular source-code based Linux distribution is Gentoo. See my previous post on Linux from Scratch if this sounds like something you would like to tackle.

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