Comparison of Linux distributions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Technical variations of Linux distributions include support for different hardware devices and systems or software package configurations. Organizational differences may be motivated by historical reasons. Other criteria include security, including how quickly security upgrades are available; ease of package management; and number of packages available.

These tables compare each noteworthy distribution's latest stable release on wide-ranging objective criteria. It does not cover each operating system's subjective merits, branches marked as unstable or beta, nor compare Linux distributions with other operating systems.

Contents


[edit] General

Basic general information about the distributions: creator or producer, release date and latest version, and so forth.

Distribution Creator Producer First public release (yyyy-MM-dd) Base distribution Latest release date Purpose
64 Studio Daniel James, Free Ekanayaka 64 Studio Ltd. 2005-05-09 Debian 2007-07-27 multimedia
Alinex Alinex Team, University of Évora Alinex Team, University of Évora 2005-12-06 Ubuntu 2008-03-07 General purpose
aLinux Jay Klepacs Jay Klepacs ? pre-1999-08-19 (1.1) Red Hat Linux 2006-11-08 desktop
ALT Linux ALT Linux Team ALT Linux Team 2001-03-21 none 2007-12-27 desktop, workstation, server
Annvix Vincent Danen Vincent Danen 2003-11-? Mandrake Linux server
Arch Linux Judd Vinet dev team 2002-03-11 none 2007-10-07 general purpose
Ark Linux Bernhard Rosenkraenzer dev team 2003-01-25 none 2008-05-14 desktop
Arudius Haidut dev team 2005-11-04 none 2006-02-06 information assurance, security
Asianux Red Flag Linux, Miracle Linux, Haansoft Linux dev team 2004-06-? RHEL 2007-09-22 workstation, server
Aurox Software-Wydawnictwo Sp. z oo Aurox Sp. z oo 2002-09-? Fedora 2006-08-31 general purpose
BLAG Brixton Linux Action Group Brixton Linux Action Group 2002-10-22 Fedora 2007-11-11 desktop
Caixa Mágica Daniel Neves, José Guimarães, Paulo Trezentos Caixa Mágica Software 2000-10-28 Mandriva Linux 2008-02-20 desktop, server
CentOS CentOS Project CentOS Project 2003-12-? RHEL 2007-12-02 server
CRUX Per Liden CRUX Linux community 2001-01-20 none 2007-12-22 general purpose
Damn Small Linux John Andrews dev team 2003-?-? Knoppix 2008-04-22 general purpose
Debian Ian Murdock Debian Project 1993-08-16 none 2007-04-08 general purpose
Desktop Light Linux Henry Jensen Henry Jensen 2002-10-? none 2008-05-28 desktop
DeMuDi AGNULA AGNULA 2002-04-? Debian 2005-11-03 producing audio, video
dyne:bolic Jaromil Jaromil 2001-06-? none 2007-09-22 producing audio, video
Elive Thanatermesis Thanatermesis 2005-01-01 Debian 2007-07-05 desktop
EnGarde Secure Linux Guardian Digital, Inc. Guardian Digital, Inc. 2001-?-? none server
Fedora Fedora Project Fedora Project 2003-11-05 Red Hat Linux 2008-05-13 general purpose
Finnix Ryan Finnie Ryan Finnie 2000-03-22 Debian 2008-01-29 server administration
Foresight Linux Ken VanDine dev team 2004-12-? rPath desktop, workstation, gnome showcase
Frugalware Miklos Vajna dev team 2004-09-? Slackware 2008-03-11 general purpose
Gentoo Linux Daniel Robbins Gentoo Foundation, Inc. 2002-3-? none 2007-05-07 general purpose
gNewSense Brian Brazil and Paul O'Malley dev team 2006-11-02 Ubuntu (8.04) 2008-04-30 desktop
Gnoppix Klaus Knopper dev team ? pre-2003-07-17 (0.4) Knoppix 2005-09-07 live CD
gnuLinEx Regional Government of Extremadura dev team 2002-06-09 Debian 2006-06-20 desktop
GoboLinux Hisham Muhammad, Andre Detsch dev team 2002-06-? none 2008-03-30 desktop
Impi Linux Gauteng Linux Users Group Impi Linux (Pty) Ltd. 2003-11-? Debian 2006-01-31 desktop
Kanotix Jörg Schirottke (Kano) dev team 2003-12-24 Debian, Knoppix 2007-12-31 live CD, desktop
Knoppix Klaus Knopper dev team ? pre-2003-01-19 (3.1) Debian 2008-03-27 live CD
KnoppMyth Cecil Watson dev team ? Debian, Knoppix 2007-09-09 Live Frontend, Desktop
Kurumin Linux Carlos Morimoto GuiadoHardware 2003-01-? Knoppix 2007-02-21 desktop, live CD
Linspire Lindows.com, Inc. Linspire, Inc. 2002-03-? Debian 2007-10-10 desktop
Freespire Lindows.com, Inc. Linspire, Inc. 2002-03-? Debian/Ubuntu(developing) 2007-08-07 desktop
Linux Mint Clement Lefebvre dev team 2006-08-27 Ubuntu 2008-06-08 desktop
Lunar Linux Chuck Mead, Lunar Penguin Project dev team 2002-03-? Sorcerer 2006-04-06 desktop, workstation
Mandriva Linux Mandrakesoft S.A. Mandriva S.A. 1998-7-23 (5.1 (venice)) Red Hat Linux 2008-04-09 general purpose
MontaVista Linux MontaVista Software MontaVista Software 1999-?-? Debian 2007-03-? embedded systems
Musix GNU+Linux Marcos Guglielmetti ? ? Knoppix, Kanotix, Debian 2007-03-05 producing audio
NimbleX Bogdan Radulescu Bogdan Radulescu 2005-12-? Slackware 2006-12-25 desktop
Nitix Net Integration Technologies, Inc. Net Integration Technologies, Inc. 2001-?-? none 2006-10-18 server
Open Enterprise Server on Linux Novell Novell, Inc. dev team 2003 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 2007-10-08 server
openSUSE SUSE Linux / Novell Novell, Inc. & openSUSE community 1994-03-? SUSE Linux 2007-10-04 desktop
Paipix António Amorim António Amorim 2004 Debian 2007-10-17 science
Pardus TUBITAK TUBITAK 2005 none 2007-11-19 general purpose
Parsix Alan Baghumian Parsix Project 2005-01-25 Kanotix, Debian 2007-10-05 desktop
PCLinuxOS Bill Reynolds dev team 2003-11-? Mandriva 2007-05-21 desktop
Pie Box Enterprise Linux PixExcel PixExcel 2004-04-19 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2006-08-15 general purpose
Puppy Linux Barry Kauler Puppy Foundation 2002-07-12 (0.4) none 2007-10-15[1] desktop
QiLinux QiLinux team QiLinux team 2003-10-31 (1.0alpha2) none 2006-08-01 desktop, server
Red Flag Linux Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, NewMargin Venture Capital Red Flag Software Co., Ltd. 1999-09-20 Asianux 2005-11-11 general purpose
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Red Hat & Fedora Project Red Hat & Fedora Project 2000-03-27 (RHL 6.2E (Zoot)) Red Hat Linux 2007-03-14 business workstation, server
Red Hat Linux Red Hat Red Hat 1995-05-13 (1.0) none 2003-03-31 server, workstation
Rxart Pixart SRL Pixart SRL 2000-03-? Debian 2006-04-16 desktop, workstation, server
Sabayon Linux lxnay Design dev team  ? Gentoo 2007-09-07 desktop
Satux Institute of Technology JRSC (iTJRSC) Institute of Technology JRSC (iTJRSC) 2007 Debian 2007[2] desktop, end user
Scientific Linux CERN, Fermilab dev team 2004-5-10 RHL/RHEL 2007-05-04 science
sidux sidux team sidux team, sidux e.V. 2007-02-21 Debian Sid 2008-04-12 desktop
SimplyMEPIS Warren Woodford MEPIS LLC. 2003-09-05 Debian 2007-12-23 desktop
Slackware Patrick Volkerding dev team 1993-07-16 SLS 2008-05-02 desktop, workstation, server
SLAX Tomas Matejicek Tomas Matejicek 2002-06-16 Slackware 2008-04-18 live CD
SliTaz GNU/Linux Christophe Lincoln dev team 2008-03-22 none 2008-03-22 live CD
Source Mage GNU/Linux Ryan Abrams, Eric Schabell dev team 2002-06-? Sorcerer 2007-03-27 general purpose
SUSE Linux SUSE Linux / Novell Novell, Inc. dev team 1994-03-? SUSE Linux 2007-06-26 business desktop, server
Symphony OS Ryan Quinn Ryan Quinn & Jason Spisak ? Debian 2006-12-13 desktop
Trustix Secure Linux Comodo Group, Inc. Comodo Group, Inc. 2000-02-? Red Hat Linux 2007-03-06 server
Ubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2004-10-20 Debian 2008-04-24 desktop, server
Kubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2005-04-08 Debian 2008-04-24 desktop
Xubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2006-06-01 Debian 2008-04-24 desktop
Edubuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2005-10-13 Debian 2008-04-24 computer lab
Gobuntu Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2007-10-18 Debian 2008-04-24 desktop
Ubuntu Studio Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. 2007-05-11 Debian 2008-04-24 multimedia
Ututo Diego Saravia, Daniel Olivera UTUTO dev-team 2000-?-? Gentoo Linux 2006-03-04 general purpose
VectorLinux Robert S. Lange dev team 1999-?-? Slackware 2007-05-17 desktop
Xandros Xandros Corp. Xandros, Inc. 2002-10-22 Corel Linux 2006-06-21 desktop
Yellow Dog Linux Terra Soft Solutions Terra Soft Solutions 1999 Fedora 2008-02-05 desktop, workstation
Yoper Andreas Giradet The Yoper Team 2003-03-05 none 2007-10-03 desktop, workstation, server
Zenwalk Linux Jean-Philippe Guillemin dev team 2004-05-21 (as Minislack) Slackware 2008-06-07 desktop, server
Distribution Creator Producer First public release (yyyy-MM-dd) Base distribution Latest release date Purpose

[edit] Cost

The following distributions are completely without cost : aLinux, ALT Linux, Annvix, Arch Linux, Ark Linux, Arudius, Asianux, Aurox, BLAG Linux and GNU, CentOS, CRUX, Damn Small Linux, Debian, DeLi Linux, DeMuDi, Devil-Linux, dyne:bolic, Edubuntu, EnGarde Secure Linux, Fedora, Finnix, Foresight Linux, Freespire, Frugalware, Gentoo, gNewSense, Gnoppix, gnuLinEx, GoboLinux, Gobuntu, Impi Linux, Kanotix, Knoppix, Knoppmyth, Kubuntu, Kurumin Linux, Linux Mint, Lunar Linux, Musix GNU+Linux, NimbleX, NUbuntu, openSUSE, Paipix, Pardus, Parsix, PCLinuxOS, Puppy Linux, QiLinux, SabayonLinux, Satux, Scientific Linux, sidux, Slackware, SLAX, SliTaz GNU/Linux, Source Mage GNU/Linux, Symphony OS, Trustix, Ubuntu, Ututo GNU/Linux, Xubuntu, Yoper and Zenwalk.

The following distributions have several editions, some of which are without cost and some of which do cost money : Caixa Mágica, Mandriva Linux, MEPIS and Red Flag Linux.

The following distributions cost money : Elive, Linspire,[3], OES Linux,[4] Pie Box Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux,[5][6] Rxart.[7], SUSE Linux[8]

Note that when talking about "free software", the word "free" refers to software freedom, not monetary cost: for an explanation of the difference, see The Free Software Definition.

[edit] Technical

Information on technical aspects of the distributions.

Distribution Linux kernel C Compiler Default file system Default desktop environment or window manager
Alinex 2.6.22 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 GNOME
aLinux 2.6.12 GCC 4.1.1 none KDE
ALT Linux 2.6.18 GCC 4.1.1 ext3 KDE, Xfce
Annvix 2.4.32 GCC 3.4.3 none
Arch Linux 2.6.25.4[9] GCC 4.3.0[10] ext3 none
Archie Xfce
Ark Linux 2.6.22.3 GCC 4.2.1 JFS file system[citation needed] KDE
Arudius 2.6.13 GCC 3.3.6 ext3 Fluxbox
Asianux 2.6.18 GCC 4.1.1 ext3 KDE
Aurox 2.6.9 GCC 4.1.1 ext3 KDE
BLAG Linux and GNU 2.6.20.10 GCC 4.1.1 ext3 GNOME
Caixa Mágica 2.6.16.13 GCC 3.3.5 ReiserFS
CentOS 2.6.18 GCC 4.1.1 ext3 GNOME
CRUX 2.6.23.9 GCC 4.2.2 ? Blackbox
Damn Small Linux 2.4.31 GCC 3.3.5, TCC ext3 Jwm
Debian 2.6.18 GCC 4.1.1, 3.4.6, 3.3.6, 2.95 ext3 GNOME, KDE or Xfce (depending on installation media)
DeLi Linux 2.4.32 GCC 2.95 ext3/ext2 IceWM
DeMuDi 2.6.12 GCC 3.3.5 ext3 GNOME
Dreamlinux Xfce
dyne:bolic 2.6.18 GCC 3.4.3 SquashFS, ext3 Xfce
Elive 2.6.15/2.6.18.2 GCC 3.4.3 SquashFS, ReiserFS Enlightenment
EnGarde Secure Linux 2.6.17 None ext3 none
Fedora 2.6.25 GCC 4.3.1 ext3 GNOME, KDE, Xfce (depending on spin)
Finnix 2.6.22 GCC 4.1.1 SquashFS none
Foresight Linux 2.6.20.11 GCC 3.4.4.9 ext3 GNOME
Frugalware 2.6.22.9 GCC 4.2.1 none none
Gentoo 2.6.19 GCC 4.1.1 none none
gnuLinEx 2.6.16 GCC 3.3.5 ext2
GoboLinux 2.6.24.4 GCC 4.1.2 ReiserFS KDE
gNewSense 2.6.15.27 GCC 4.0.3 ext3
Impi Linux 2.6.11.7 GCC 4.0.1 ? KDE
Kanotix 2.6.22 GCC 4.1.1 ext3 KDE
Knoppix 2.6.24.4 GCC 4.2.2 XFS KDE
Kurumin Linux 2.6.18 GCC 4.1.1 ext3 KDE
Linspire 2.6.14 GCC 3.4.3 ReiserFS KDE
Linux Mint 2.6.24 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 GNOME, KDE or Xfce (depending on edition)
Lunar Linux 2.6.17.8 GCC 3.4.6
GCC 4.1.1[11]		 none none
Mandriva Linux 2.6.24.4 GCC 4.2.3 ext3 GNOME,KDE
MEPIS 2.6.22.14 GCC ? ReiserFS, ext3 KDE
Musix GNU+Linux 2.6.16 GCC 4.0.3 ? IceWM
NimbleX 2.6.11 ? SquashFS KDE
Nitix 2.4.21 GCC 3.3.4 ReiserFS none
openSUSE 2.6.22.5 GCC 4.2 ext3, ReiserFS, XFS GNOME, KDE, Xfce
Paipix 2.6.14 GCC 4.0.2 none KDE
Pardus 2.6.18 GCC 3.4.6 ext3 KDE
Parsix 2.6.23.9 GCC 4.2.2 ext3 GNOME
PCLinuxOS 2.6.16 GCC 3.3.1 none KDE
Pie Box Enterprise Linux 2.6.9 GCC 3.4.6 ext3 GNOME
Puppy Linux 2.6.21.7 GCC 3.3.4 SquashFS containing ext2 JWM
QiLinux 2.6.17 GCC 4.0.2 ReiserFS KDE
Red Flag Linux 2.6.9 GCC 3.4.3 ext3 KDE
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.6.18[12] GCC 4.1.1 ext3 GNOME
Rxart Desktop 2.6.11 ? ext3 KDE
Sabayon Linux 2.6.23.1 GCC 4.1.2 ext3/ext4[citation needed] KDE
Satux 2.6.22 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 GNOME
Scientific Linux 2.6.9 GCC 3.4.6 ext3 GNOME
sidux 2.6.24.4 GCC 4.2.3 ext3 KDE
Slackware 2.6.24.4 GCC 4.1.2 ReiserFS[citation needed] KDE, Xfce
SLAX 2.6.24.4 GCC 4.2.3 SquashFS KDE, Xfce (Popcorn edition)
SliTaz GNU/Linux 2.6.24.2 GCC 4.2.2 ext3 JWM
Source Mage GNU/Linux any (iso uses 2.6.19) GCC 4.1.2 ext2 none
SUSE Linux 2.6.16.46 GCC 4.1.2 ext3, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS GNOME, KDE, Xfce
Symphony OS 2.6.16 GCC 4.1.0 ReiserFS Mezzo
Ubuntu Edubuntu 2.6.22 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 GNOME
Kubuntu 2.6.22 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 KDE
Xubuntu 2.6.22 GCC 4.1.2 ext3 Xfce
Ututo GNU/Linux 2.6.15 ? ? ?
VectorLinux 2.6.13 GCC 3.4.6 ? Fluxbox, IceWM, Xfce
Xandros Desktop OS 2.6.15 GCC 3.3.5 ReiserFS KDE
Yoper 2.6 GCC 4.0, 4.2 ext3 KDE
Zenwalk Linux 2.6.25.4 GCC 4.2.3 XFS Xfce
Distribution Linux kernel C Compiler Default file system Default desktop environment or window manager

[edit] Architecture support

Distribution x86 x86-64 IA-64 ppc ppc64 sparc32 sparc64 arm hppa mips sh s390 s390x alpha
64 Studio Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
aLinux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Alinex Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
ALT Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Annvix Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Arch Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Ark Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Arudius Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Asianux Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No
Aurox Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
BLAG Linux and GNU Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Caixa Mágica Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No
CentOS Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes
CRUX Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Damn Small Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Debian[13] Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes
DeLi Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
DeMuDi Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
dyne:bolic Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Elive Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
EnGarde Secure Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Fedora Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No No No
Finnix Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No
Foresight Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Frugalware Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Gentoo Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes
gnuLinEx Yes Yes ? No No No No No No No No No No No
GoboLinux[14] Yes No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No
Impi Linux Yes Yes ? ? No ? ? No No No No No No No
Kanotix Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Knoppix Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Kurumin Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Linspire Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Linux Mint Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Lunar Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Mandriva Linux Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No No No
MEPIS Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Musix GNU+Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
NimbleX Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Nitix Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
OES2-Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No Yes No No
openSUSE Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No
Paipix Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Pardus Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Parsix Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
PCLinuxOS Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Pie Box Enterprise Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Puppy Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
QiLinux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Red Flag Linux Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No[15] Yes No
Rxart Desktop Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No
Sabayon Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Satux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Scientific Linux Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No
sidux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Slackware Yes No No No No No No No No No No Yes No No
Slax Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
SliTaz GNU/Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Source Mage GNU/Linux Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No No No
SUSE Linux Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No Yes Yes No
Symphony OS Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Edubuntu/Xubuntu Yes Yes Yes No No Partial Partial No No No No No No No
UTUTO GNU/Linux Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
VectorLinux Yes ? No No No No No No No No No No No No
Xandros Desktop OS Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Yellow Dog Linux No No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No
Yoper Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Zenwalk Linux Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Distribution x86 x86-64 IA-64 ppc ppc64 sparc32 sparc64 arm hppa mips sh s390 s390x alpha

[edit] Features

Information on features in the distributions. Package numbers are only approximate.

Distribution Approximate number of packages GUI installation procedure Default desktop environment or window manager Default package management tools Package Format
Alinex 20300 Yes GNOME APT DEB
aLinux 1200 No KDE RPM RPM
ALT Linux 7500 Yes KDE, Xfce APT, RPM RPM
Annvix APT, RPM RPM
Arch Linux 15000 No none Pacman tgz
Archie ? ? Xfce
Ark Linux 4000 Yes KDE RPM, APT RPM
Arudius ? No Fluxbox Slackware Pkgtools tgz
Asianux ? Yes KDE mlupdater, RPM RPM
Aurox 3000 Yes KDE RPM, yum RPM
BLAG 9000 Yes GNOME RPM, yum, APT RPM
CRUX 1155 No Blackbox pkgutils tgz
CentOS 1660 Yes GNOME RPM, yum/up2date RPM
Damn Small Linux 610 No Jwm myDSL, APT .dsl, .tar.gz, .uci, .unc, deb
Debian 26000 Yes GNOME, KDE or Xfce (depending on installation media) APT deb
Desktop Light Linux 150 No IceWM ? ?
DeMuDi 875 Yes GNOME APT deb
Dreamlinux ? ? Xfce
dyne:bolic ? Yes Xfce none none
Elive 20000 Yes Enlightenment APT deb
EnGarde Secure Linux 500 ? none RPM, APT RPM
Fedora 8000 Yes GNOME, KDE, Xfce (depending on spin) yum RPM
Finnix 350 No none APT deb
Foresight Linux 15000 Yes GNOME Conary, PackageKit[16]
Frugalware 3000 Yes none Pacman .tar.bz
Gentoo 12000 Yes[17] none Portage ebuild
gnuLinEx 200 Yes GNOME APT deb
GoboLinux 2000 Yes KDE Manager,[18] Compile, InstallPackage recipes,tar.bz2
Impi Linux ? No KDE ? ?
Kanotix 1200 Yes KDE APT deb
KateOS ? ? Xfce
Knoppix 3600 No KDE APT deb
Kurumin ? Yes KDE APT deb
Linspire 2200 Yes KDE CNR "click and run" deb
Linux Mint 20000 Yes GNOME, KDE or Xfce (depending on edition) APT deb
Lunar 3120 Yes none lin src?
Mandriva Linux 16000 Yes GNOME,KDE urpmi, rpmdrake[19] RPM
MEPIS 20000 Yes KDE APT deb
Musix GNU+Linux 1300 Yes IceWM APT deb
Mythbuntu ? ? Xfce
NimbleX 500 No KDE none tgz
Nitix ? Yes none SoftUpdate, yum RPM
openSUSE 22000 Yes GNOME, KDE, Xfce YaST, Zypper RPM
Paipix 2000 Yes KDE APT deb
Pardus 1600 Yes KDE PiSi .pisi
Parsix ? Yes GNOME APT deb
PCLinuxOS 5025 Yes KDE APT, RPM RPM
Pie Box Enterprise Linux 1500 Yes GNOME up2date,yum RPM
Puppy 300 Yes JWM PupGet, DotPup .pup, .pet
QiLinux 2500 Yes[20] KDE RPM, APT RPM
Red Flag ? Yes KDE Red Flag Installer System,RPM RPM
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3000 Yes GNOME RPM,yum RPM
Rxart 5000 Yes KDE APT deb
Sabayon Linux 12000 Yes KDE Portage,Entropy ebuild
SAM Linux ? ? Xfce
Satux ? Yes GNOME dpkg,apt-get deb
Scientific ? Yes GNOME APT/yum RPM
sidux 22950 Yes KDE APT deb
Slackware 544 No KDE, Xfce installpkg, upgradepkg tgz
Slax 2050 ? KDE, Xfce (Popcorn edition) none slax modules
SliTaz GNU/Linux 448 Yes JWM Tazpkg .tazpkg
Source Mage GNU/Linux 5514 Yes none Sorcery Package Manager src
SUSE 22000 Yes GNOME, KDE, Xfce YaST, Zypper RPM
Symphony OS ? Yes Mezzo APT, OneClick RPM
Ubuntu 23000 Yes GNOME APT deb
Kubuntu 23000 Yes KDE APT deb
Xubuntu 23000 Yes Xfce APT deb
Ututo 5000 ? ? UTUTO Package Manager ebuild
Vector Linux ? Yes Fluxbox, IceWM, Xfce slapt-get, gslapt, installpkg tgz
Xandros Desktop OS ? Yes KDE APT deb
Yoper 2000 No KDE Smart RPM
Zenwalk Linux ? Yes Xfce netpkg, installpkg, upgradepkg tgz
Distribution Approximate number of packages GUI installation procedure Default desktop environment or window manager Default package management tools Package Format

[edit] Security features

Distribution Compile Time Buffer Checks Mandatory access control Software executable space protection grsecurity RSBAC
Fedora Yes Yes (SELinux[21]) Yes (Exec Shield[22]) No No
Gentoo[23] Optional (SELinux) Optional (PaX) Optional Optional
Mandriva Linux Yes (AppArmor[24]) Yes

[edit] See also

Free software Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ Puppy Linux Home - your fast, small and free Linux distro
  2. ^ satux
  3. ^ Linspire.com - Products
  4. ^ How to Buy: Novell Open Enterprise Server 2
  5. ^ redhat.com | Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  6. ^ redhat.com | Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Operating Systems
  7. ^ Linux- RXART- Soluciones Linux - Linux Solutions
  8. ^ Novell SUSE Linux Operating Systems
  9. ^ Pkg: kernel26 - Arch Linux Package Details
  10. ^ Pkg: gcc - Arch Linux Package Details
  11. ^ http://modules.lunar-linux.org/index.php?option=moonbase&section=compilers#compilers
  12. ^ redhat.com | Knowledgebase
  13. ^ Debian - Ports
  14. ^ GoboLinux - the alternative Linux distribution
  15. ^ RHEL 4 is the last version to support 31-bit s390. RHEL 5 only supports 64-bit s390x.
  16. ^ Foresight Linux | 1.4.1 Release Notes
  17. ^ Can be installed graphically (GTK+ and ncurses), but traditionally done by command line (install cd, livecd, netboot, and from distributions).
  18. ^ GoboLinux - the alternative Linux distribution
  19. ^ Mandriva 2008 release notes
  20. ^ Ncurses-based first stage and then KDE-based second stage installation GUI.
  21. ^ Mandatory Access Control with SELinux. Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  22. ^ Fedora Core 1 Release Notes - Kernel Notes. Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  23. ^ Hardened Gentoo - 4. Subprojects. Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  24. ^ Mandriva Linux 2008 Release Notes: Apparmor has replaced RSBAC as the in-kernel application security tool..

[edit] External links

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