Need help choosing OS

[CaptainBill]

Alright, I have decided I want to learn some Unix based OS, so I am leaning between Debian, Slackware, OR FreeBSD. I am wondering which will be more beneficial to me learning (not with a GUI but strictly commands). Suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[n0cmonkey]

They should all be fine.

 

[fivepesos]

like n0c said, they should all be fine.

differences to note:
debian has nice package management system called apt, that allows you to get software from remote ftps very easily.
slackware has no real package management (.tgz arent used by anyone) but has nicer init scripts than debian IMO
freebsd has ports which is like apt in many respect and is very useful.

freebsd is obviously not linux, but if youre using bash, most of the commands should be identical. i started on slackware and i like being forced to do things manually at first. but then i migrated my main workstation to debian since it has nice packages. ive been meaning to learn more about the bsd system as i have very limited experience.

few tips, when u start, give yourself a project with a specific goal. when istarted, i want to build an ip masquerading box for my cable modem. then web server, then dns, and so forth until u understand the system. dont be afraid to mess up. each failure is a learning experience blah blah blah.

enjoy and remember, when u get frustrated from not knowing something, you love the technology and you love learning new systems.

 

[n0cmonkey]

I dont bother with BASH on my BSD systems. ksh is great under OpenBSD. I dont remember what is default on FreeBSD though. I learned a lot from Slackware, and Im working on the skills with Debian. But I think they all pale in comparison to how easy I found OpenBSD. But very few people agree with that opinion

 

[freebsddude]

A GUI based environment might offer the flexibility of learning Unix in a command line window (xterm) as well as the ability to use gui tools to surf the net, etc. This way you wont be completely overwhelmed with the unix environment, and at the same time have the ability to work in the GUI (KDE, GNOME) environment as well.

People suggest Mandrake to be user-friendly GUI based distro. By all means, try FreeBSD as well, Debian has more of a Linux flavor while Slackware uses BSD type startup scripts. I would also pick one that is easy to configure and install.

 

[jmatt]

http://www.armed.net/what.htm

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Requirements
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[hans007]

corel linux when they were developing it still, used to allow you to install into a big container file on a dos partition. it was really easy to use too, but their linux development died when microsoft bought a share of them.


For just commands and stuff it reallydoesnt matter, just use something that has POSIX standard calls or whatever they are called. you can even use solaris.