/**End Rant.*/

Proper programming is about
1 investigating the user experience
2 enabling the user experience
3 translating the resulting tasks to use cases and task support programming.
4 writing test-descriptions and tests
5 programming to pass the test.

Before you actually start to write the code (at step 5), you should have your documentation ready already (at step 4).

Programming without documentation is just a sign of bad (or backward) programming: it limits testing, code effectiveness, input, reusability and understanding.
Many of these points are similiar to the points made against closed source software.

I’ve used all but CentOS because from every Linux podcast, article I read it’s Red Hat which says enough for me. Here is what I’ve experienced in my use of Linux (as my only OS, not dual boot) for 3 years now only a week from my Linux+ Certification

Ubuntu is my choice of desktop/laptop OS because quite frankly it is easy. I don’t use my personal PC to partake in additional work. I do that enough in the office. I want to go home and browse the web, email and play video games. As a fan of the debian package system this makes Ubuntu ideal. However Ubuntu has many back end tweaks and changes to the file system structure and configurations that make it just different enough to be very irritating if you are not familiar with the back end. This does not make it ideal when trying to set up servers or services based on some other documentation.

This is where Fedora/Red Hat really seem to step back into the spotlight. They’ve been around for years and as far as industry standards go they are undeniably familiar. The packaging system is only becoming more user friendly in the more recent years and trying to get the kernel header files to install random drivers or compile applications can be annoying but with time the result is a very operational OS.

Another common standard that you didn’t mention is SUSE – In a nutshell it’s very similar to Red Hat/Fedora with again some slight (but commonly expected) differences in file system structure and configuration

Gentoo…I entirely agree. I’ve done it three times just to say I did it. Ultimately though it was tiresome and took large chunks of time out of my day that I would have (on any other distribution) spent _using_ my computer. Good for anyone who sets it up and enjoys it but in my opinion it’s far from necessary to find satisfaction with your computer.

Ultimately though, I’m fairly certain there is a distribution that is released as a LAMP server. Out of the box. Perhaps it would be wise to investigate that.

Pretty much you hit it right on the mark. Debian people happen to be more “pure” (using only FOSS), ubuntu people go for what looks “cool” (hence why a lot of converts from windows go to ubuntu) ubuntu also does a bunch of things for the user. I don’t have much experience/knowledge of other distros, just enough to tell new people to use ubuntu, then go to other distros if they don’t like ubuntu.

To those Elitist Linux folks who mock those of us who use Ubuntu and other ‘newbee’ distro’s, I say “Don’t be such an Ass!”. Us Linux noobs are NOT jealous of you and your Jedi like Linux skills, so stop wasting your time trying to make us feel stupid when we ask for help.
95% of people who use a computer don’t know or care how code is written, or even how to use a command line for that matter. Linux is prospering more than ever because of ,not in spite of, all the noobs like me who are willing to take the plunge into unknown waters and give it a try, even if we have to be mocked by the self proclaimed Linux guru’s to do it.

CentOS is the server version of Fedora. Fedora is the RHEL distro that they “throw crap to the wall and see what sticks”.

Gentoo is a completely customized system that can teach you A LOT about linux and give you approximately 15% performance increase if you know what you’re doing.

Ubuntu is designed for new and experienced users. You don’t usually build things yourself, but you can pick and choose exactly what you want, or leave the standard system there to “just work”.

Debain… pricks. They like to rip off other peoples work and call it their own then bitch like little babies when someone does the same to them. Iceweasle is Firefox with a name and theme change. Ubuntu does this same approach (extra functionality) using an ubufox plugin.

If you’re addicted to RHEL, use CentOS, don’t look at Fedora. If you’re debating between Ubuntu and Debian and want any support without being ridiculed take Ubuntu. If you want something designed to your exact system and faster than nearly any other system, then use Gentoo.

I guess someone’s wisdom didn’t equal success.

Bonus points for turning half the pros into cons, thereby not having to think analytically about the different distributions and their appropriate uses.

For example, the *BSDs tend to make good servers. Ubuntu is best for desktops, great for laptops. Debian makes small-time administration easy and painless. Redhat makes good enterprise server software. Gentoo allows for a level of understanding of Linux and its intricacies that most casual users will never reach.

By the way, there’s hundreds of distributions out there, each created for different uses. You don’t install Damn Small Linux on enterprise hardware. You don’t try to run Mandrake on an embedded device.

You humorously critiqued 6, while insulting your own reader base.

Oh, and yes, I fail for responding to the troll. But, as always, ignorance should be rewarded with knowledge.

Oh, and FTW. A debian minimal server install can become a LAMP server with one command:

sudo apt-get install mysql-server apache2 php5

And a minimal amount of configuration, for which there are many straight forward and easy to understand tutorials. Maybe even easy enough for you.

GNU/Linux is the best. Followed closely by other free software distros such as the BSDs and OpenSolaris, etc

The chatroom are not generally a good way of find help more are just teen flammers or angry people

You should vivist some forums very distro has their own forum generally.

The distro you choose depende of your needs and taste . If you rae starting. there is some lerning curve

Some distros like Suse , Mandriva, Ubuntu, PC los are good distros to start since are more user firnedly

Once that learn a bit more you can try Gentoo, Fedora, slackware, Debian : this dttros are more manual so for beginner a I dont knwo r you xperice are a bit difficult whne it staring once you leran you will find them more easy.

And dont let this trolls confuse you. Choose the distro you are really like. And leave this thing stop you. trolls are evry every where even on windows communities

And for the love of God people please stop submitting this dumb shit to SumbleUpon.

Anyway my suggestions on distros.

Centos – good server base easy install. If you want a lamp it’s an easy way to go. Stable as hell. Yeah they are associated with redhat in that they are giving away what redhat sells.

Fedora – pretty much the same as cent. It’s just not RHEL (redhat enterprise linux). Good stable base for any LAMP server.

Gentoo – this one I haven’t tried myself. I can’t give much input.

Ubuntu – Debian made a little prettier a little easier and well documented. When reading through the endless documentation pay attention to version. Something documented for gutsy may not work on other releases. Not a bad OS for a windows convert. I use it on a couple laptops my kids use.

Debian – stable with a large core base of users. Like you said the developers all have to have real jobs and find it hard to always document projects. I think the ubuntu bitterness stems from not coming up with the idea themselves because they wanted to stay completely true to opensource. Debian could have built the same business model while maintaining their credibility in the opensource community if they really tried.

There are literally hundreds of releases available. You may even find a distro specifically compiled to preform the functions you are looking. Some with live CDs to test before actually installing. Have a spare computer with lots of hard drive space try freenas or openfiler. Have a computer you want to hook to a TV try freevo or mythdora or mythbuntu.

In what way do you handcode your OS by installing gentoo?
Makes me wonder if you really spent more than 5 minutes looking at each distribution?

modifying configuration files and specifying which packages you want on your system is hardly “handcoding” an OS.

‘Why can’t someone just say, “Debian is designed around this idea, Ubuntu around this idea, Fedora does this really well, but Gentoo is better at this.”’

Each of these distros’ websites briefly explain the underlying concepts and ideas for that distribution.

NOBODY is going to agree that one specific distribution does a general task (such as hosting your website) better than any other.

FreeBSD ^_^

http://www.commandlineidiot.com/blog/2007/why-i-wrote-that-post/

Microsoft has a vested interest in your remaining stupid — they want to be the default option, which means they don’t want you to make choices. Of course you pay for that — both with the upgrades, and with the licensing fees of all of the proprietary software you would have to purchase to run a decent Windows system (assuming there weren’t people out there making things available for you either through free software or piracy.)

If you don’t appreciate his zealotry, it’s either because you haven’t thought about the fact that you would have less of everything (and by a significant margin) — music, media, web-content — where would you be if you had to pay an access fee for every video on you-tube? That is the Microsoft model, or the Metallica model. Every one of those You-Tube videos is intellectual property — you want to watch, you have to pay. You want a membership at Myspace or Facebook? You have to pay.

Or maybe you are just so wealthy that you don’t care, and living in a world where only the wealthy who can afford the thousands of dollars for director, and photoshop, and office and acrobat get to participate in the discussion is OK with you. Either way, your position is implicitly idealogical, and implicitly disenfranchises others.

So before you get all shitty about why Open Source people don’t suck your dick when you call, like proprietary help desk people after you purchase the gold level service agreement, stop and ask yourself “What have I given back to deserve the attention of this community at all?” Because at that point, before the conversation has even started, they have already given you a tremendous amount out of simple respect for your humanity.