Distro Suggestions...?

[rahul8590]

Well i have been working on linux for a while , eventhough i am stuck to ubuntu only .
Well i am planning to venture out a little and understand more about how os is made and may be build os from scratch .. i mean not to code it but coalesce different units and having a satisfaction of building my own version and including programs .. stuff like these..
Is there any distro which allows me to learn more about linux in depth and delivers what i am looking forward to build ?

[Primoz]

Hello rahul8590 :)
Sure there is. Its called Gentoo. It really does learn you how to compile and use Linux in a way no other distro does. I suggest you grab it from their offical website and get the Gentoo Handbook (it's located on their offical website too-for free :))

Have fun!

[iamthwee]

Linux From Scratch.

Truly hardcore.

[rahul8590]

LFS might be a bit overwhelming for me as of now .

[evstevemd]

Ubuntu Lucid, my vote so goes :)

[rahul8590]

lucid doesnt help you to build one AFAIK .
I want something which helps u to build one .. since i am frustrated with theortical concepts like

File systems , scheduling algorithms , the getty , controlling terminal and stuff and i guess the only way to comprehend them profoundly could be building one . (ofcourse not from scratch )
Gentoo is one of the option which kinda suits my requirements , but i am looking for more nascent ones where i can contribute too. :)

[evstevemd]

lucid doesnt help you to build one AFAIK .

Build what? Applications?
sudo apt-get install build-essential

there you can go building whatever you want with GCC :)

[rahul8590]

not build appications .. your not getting my point .
I mean build the internals of operating system , like for example the kernel runs on its own scheduling algorithms , i would like to write my own .
Or tamper with the file system and change some internals .. well basically messing around with the internals of OS in order to understand it better .

[evstevemd]

not build appications .. your not getting my point . I mean build the internals of operating system , like for example the kernel runs on its own scheduling algorithms , i would like to write my own . Or tamper with the file system and change some internals .. well basically messing around with the internals of OS in order to understand it better .

Its looong time since I used to play with those stuffs. I have forgotten much of it, so? No comment on that ;)

[slacke]

I vote for slackware. I really dream about the same thing as you ... I hope one day I will find that "big bag" full of free time and do:

1. Read and understand the complete code of linux kernel. (of course the parts needed by my main hardware components)
2. Read and understand all main application packages I use.

I don't know if that much time exists ...

[rahul8590]

>I vote for slackware. I really dream about the same thing as you ... I hope one day I will find that "big bag" full of free time and do:

well the problem is .. its very difficult to find tutorials on these arcane topics .. and this leads you to take such bold steps of venturing out on our own.
i would try on slackware.. but i guess its a pretty mature OS and one of the oldest , i was wondering if you could suggest some nascent ones.

[Fewt]

You want Linux From Scratch. Gentoo just teaches you how to read a manual, and run commands. It doesn't really teach you about the OS. The rest of the distributions do all the work for you which doesn't solve your problem of learning how it works while you build it.

[kad1r]

Yep, I agree with slacke.
Try Debian or Slackware.