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The biggest pro's with Gentoo are that you can setup what are called USE flags. Basically they're like meta-flags which tell the compiled packages what to build into your system. For example, if I add "mysql" to my USE variable, all packages that have mysql support will be built with mysql enabled. Likewise, there are flags for everything from kde, gnome, and X to the basics like alsa, and ssl. This produces an amazingly targeted and fat-free system that only has what you want it to have. In theory this sounds great, in practice it's absolutely mind-blowing. You want all your packages to suddenly support postgres, just add it to your USE flag, and run 'emerge --newuse world' and any packages that can provide postgres support will be re-built. Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.
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In rebuilding my server, I've grown very accustomed to Gentoo Linux, the unique distribution that is source-based. "Source-based" here means that you don't download binary applications and update your system with pre-compiled binary files. All gentoo updates and packages are source code packages and patches. When you install a new application, you download its source package with the 'emerge' package tool, and Gentoo automatically builds the package - specifically for your system and with your settings - and installs the package as every other distro normally does. The phenomenal ability to do this is absolutely mind-boggling. I have pretty good experience with the other major distros like the Red Hat varieties, SuSE, debian, Ubuntu, Slack and the other major players. So coming to Gentoo, I thought I'd have a real hard time installing and setting things up. Granted, a Gentoo install takes on order of a few days to get done simply because everything is compiled before your eyes, but the on-line docs and forums are THE best I've dealt with yet. I can't believe that I've missed out on Gentoo for all these years. I now have Gentoo running on my server (hosting this site and others), and my workstation. I'm considering running it on my laptop, but that would be a SERIOUSLY painful process for a laptop to undergo. I think I'm happy with Ubuntu in that regard.
The biggest pro's with Gentoo are that you can setup what are called USE flags. Basically they're like meta-flags which tell the compiled packages what to build into your system. For example, if I add "mysql" to my USE variable, all packages that have mysql support will be built with mysql enabled. Likewise, there are flags for everything from kde, gnome, and X to the basics like alsa, and ssl. This produces an amazingly targeted and fat-free system that only has what you want it to have. In theory this sounds great, in practice it's absolutely mind-blowing. You want all your packages to suddenly support postgres, just add it to your USE flag, and run 'emerge --newuse world' and any packages that can provide postgres support will be re-built. On the server end, you get the best release schedule in the business for security updates and bug fixes. On the desktop, you get the latest and greatest packages (if you enable 'beta' packages to be used) like KDE 3.4 (which I'm running), X.org with awesome openGL support, and a nicely compiled nvidia driver. Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.
If you havent' had the opportunity to try Gentoo, bust out fdisk, create a nice partition for yourself, set aside about a week (two if you'd like to have a nice rounded out system), and try out Gentoo. Don't worry about the 'set aside a week' part -- you need only a week for build time. You'll need about an hour or two to set things up and get the ball rolling. Once everything starts compiling (like gcc, glibc, the kernel, etc.), let it go and learn the handful of new commands that every Gentoo user relies on on a daily basis.
I have definitely found a distro that I can use on my desktops and servers. I wouldn't recommend this to newbies just yet (that's what Ubuntu is for), but for me, and other Linux users comfortable with the command line and looking for a cutting edge distro, there's nothing that comes even close to Gentoo. Full Story |
