On Mon, 2003-02-03 at 11:13, David Smith wrote: > Having used both, here are some of the advantages/disadvantages of each. > Debian > > Advantages > Sleak package management > Pakackages play very nicely together. I've rarely had a problem.
I've actually had quite a few problems with deb packages. Sometimes they'll go in but won't configure. Then you can't remove them until you figure out why one of the post-install or pre-removal or whatever script broke. I found out that the majority of my problems were caused by a buggy "scrollkeeper" package on sparc. (The bug is sparc specific.) So the debian packaage system isn't a pancea. Basically I find almost no advantages of debian packages over RPM now that apt-get supports rpms. > Security > The Debian security team does a great job keeping updates current. > Updates are fast -- no compiling > Support > irc.debian.org: 24x7 support. Good stuff. Not only that, but debian provides a consistant distro for every platform Linux runs on. That's one very nice thing. > > Disadvantages > The Stable tree is oooold. Are they still using a 2.2 kernel? > To get anything worth using, you must run the testing branch > Does a lot of default config that I don't like. I installed Debian 3.0 stable on my ultrasparc and it's a nice 2.4.18 kernel. I think that's standard for stable now. Personally I find debian to be good, but extremely rough and crude around the edges, particularly in the init scripts. I also dislike how debian runs the X server and login manager at runlevel 2. I prefer the redhat runlevels which are more logically split up. I would just hack things on the debian box to work better, but messing with the init scripts and how X runs breaks how the deb packages configure things when they install. In short, debian will never be my desktop distro. Server and non-x86 archs definitely benefit from debian, though. Michael > > --Dave > > > <quote who="Mark Gulbrandsen"> > > Not to start a flame war or anything (seriously)....but.... > > > > Is debian better than gentoo? Is gentoo better than debian? Why or why > > not? I haven't used debian much, but I can't ever go back to red hat or > > mandrake or suse after having used gentoo. Portage makes life so much > > easier. But I've heard people rave about apt-get. > > > > So, what does everyone think? Why one over the other? > > > > Does apt-get compile from source with custom arch settings? > > > > Are there a billion apps available with apt-get like with emerge > > (strictly speaking, portage)? > > > > How about release cycles? Gentoo always seems to keep up with the latest > > and greatest userland apps. > > > > Also, gentoo has every package configured very nicely and in context of > > their system layout. How about debian? > > > > Thanks, > > > > Mark > > > > > > -- > > If the future's looking dark > > We're the ones who have to shine > > If there's no one in control > > We're the ones who draw the line > > Though we live in trying times > > We're the ones who have to try > > Though we know that time has wings > > We're the ones who have to fly! > > > > No matter what they say > > No matter what they say > > > > -Rush, Counterparts, Everyday Glory > > > > > > ____________________ > > BYU Unix Users Group > > http://uug.byu.edu/ > > ___________________________________________________________________ List > > Info: http://phantom.byu.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uug-list > > > > > ____________________ > BYU Unix Users Group > http://uug.byu.edu/ > ___________________________________________________________________ > List Info: http://phantom.byu.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uug-list ____________________ BYU Unix Users Group http://uug.byu.edu/ ___________________________________________________________________ List Info: http://phantom.byu.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uug-list
