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385Chapter 14Running Slackware LinuxSlackware comes with a good set of libraries that will take care of the dependencyneeds of most Linux applications. However, for video, audio, and some other typesof applications, you may find yourself hunting around for libraries. Tools for satisfyingpackage dependencies (such as yum and apt) can save you that trouble in otherdistributions. Characterizing the Slackware CommunityLike many other successful Linux distributions, Slackware was started by a strong- minded individual who created the kind of Linux system that suited himself. Slackware users are people who pretty much agree with him. The Slackware CreatorPatrick Volkerding started Slackware in 1993 as a Linux distribution to use for him- self and his friends. He was kind enough to answer some questions I had aboutSlackware, and I want to share his answers with you here: Patrick originally used a Linux distribution called SLS Linux (named after SoftLanding Linux, the company that made it). Why didn t he just contribute to SLSinstead of starting his own distribution? Patrick:I tried. By April of 1993 I had collected a huge list of bugs in SLS, along with the fixes for most of them. Plenty of people tried to get these toPeter MacDonald (SLS s author/maintainer), but the bugs in SLS (many ofwhich were quite obvious) never seemed to get fixed. Of course, I d started work on my patched version of SLS with no plan to tryto launch a lasting distribution. I figured I d get it online and SLS would fix theissues, and that might just be that. SLS was a great distribution and isn t givenenough credit for all the ideas that started there. Unfortunately, it was whilePeter was busy working on inventing kernel modules that SLS sat online for afew months, full of bugs and not getting any updates. Patrick decided to take the leap to separate Slackware from SLS after MacDonaldsuggested that Slackware was infringing on his copyrights (despite the only licenseon the SLS code saying Distribute freely; do not restrict. ): Patrick:So, I promised Peter that I would write a new installer for Slackwareinstead of using a modified SLS one, and that the new installer would be thenext change made to Slackware online. Did the great success of Slackware from the get-go surprise him? Patrick:Absolutely. I knew it worked better than the other distributions thatwere out at the time, but I didn t expect the kind of mass exodus from SLS thatoccurred. Note21

384Part IIIChoosing and Installing a Linux DistributionAsk Slackware devotees the value of Slackware, and they might recite their mantra, the 4S Rule : Stable, Solid, Simple, and Sensible. By keeping things basic, Slackwareoffers the following advantages: .Better comprehension.Because you use commands and configuration fileswith Slackware, you learn more about how Linux works on the inside. Mostgraphical installers and GUI tools hide the actual configuration that is goingon and often limit the features you can use. If something goes wrong, it can behard to debug a problem with most graphical interfaces. The Slackwareinstaller is menu-based, very flexible, and quite intuitive. .Less bloat.In general, graphical interfaces consume far more resources thantheir command-line counterparts. GUIs require more room on the distributionmedium, plus more hard disk space and more RAM. Slackware relies primarilyon basic Linux commands, text-based configuration files, and some simplemenu-driven administration tools. With a Slackware 4.0 system, you can installa command-line version on a 100MB hard disk. .Better for low-end computers.Slackware is the first distribution I recommendto run on low-end machines. A special ZipSlack distribution (www.slackware. com/zipslack) can be installed from a 100MB Zip drive or floppy disks. ZipSlack can install on a 386 PC with as little as 4MB of RAM. Even with the latest Slackware distribution, if you want a GUI, the installation procedure forSlackware lets you choose small, efficient window managers, Web browsers, mail clients, and other graphical tools. .Packages as projects intended.Slackware doesn t mold the software itincludes into one look-and-feel. The Apache Web server, KDE desktop, orSamba file/printer sharing projects work pretty much as they are deliveredfrom those projects. So, again, the knowledge you gain from using those pro- jects will transfer fairly easily to those same projects on other Linux systems. Instead of providing a unified look-and-feel, Slackware allows the desktop environ- ment or window manager you choose to dictate the desktop presentation. You canchange your desktop as you like, using the menus or preference windows that comewith those environments. Full KDE or GNOME desktops are available with Slackware(contained mostly on the second of two Slackware installation CDs). Or you can optfor a lighter, more efficient window manager, such as xfce, fvwm2, or twm. For system administration, Slackware offers some tools that are based on the ncurseslibrary. Ncurses allows an application to provide a screen-oriented interface from acharacter terminal, so you can use forms, menus, and sometimes even a mouse toconfigure some basic Linux features from any shell (no GUI required). Anything you can do with other Linux distributions, you can do with Slackware. Itmight just take a bit more manual work to get there. Slackware doesn t yet officiallyuse a package management system, such as the Red Hat RPM or Debian deb files. (Although there are some software management tools you can use, which aredescribed later.) In general, however, most Slackware users become adept at build- ing and installing their own applications (using tar, make, and similar tools).