Linux® Bible, 2008 Edition: Boot Up to Ubuntu®, Fedora®, KNOPPIX, Debian®, openSUSE®, and 11 Other Distributions

Chapter 14. Running Slackware Linux

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Getting into Slackware

• Characterizing the Slackware community

• Installing Slackware

• Starting Slackware

Ask old-time Linux users about the first Linux distribution they used and many will tell you it was Slackware. Slackware is the oldest Linux distribution still actively developed today. Although it does not have a fancy graphical installer or specialized GUI tools, Slackware still has a loyal following and is a good way to get a basic Linux system that is both secure and stable.

This chapter explores the Slackware distribution, discusses its strengths and weaknesses, and introduces those who use it. It also explains how to install Slackware.

Note

The first CD of the Slackware 12.0 three-CD set is included on the DVD that comes with this book. The SLAX live CD (which is based on Slackware) is also included and can be booted directly. You can buy the complete Slackware 12.0 from the Slackware Store (http://store.slackware.com) or find out where to download the DVD or other CD images from the Slackware site (www.slackware.com/getslack).

Getting into Slackware

Although full graphical installs and GUI administration tools can make installing and configuring Linux easy, those tools carry with them some overhead. They also hide some of the details of how Linux is being configured.

Ask Slackware devotees the value of Slackware and they might recite their mantra, the "4S Rule": Stable, Solid, Simple, and Sensible. By keeping things basic, Slackware ...