Frugalware Linux

Last updated
Frugalware Linux
Frugalware linux logo.svg
OS family Linux (Unix-like)
Working stateDormant
Source model Open source
Latest release 2.1 (Derowd) [1] [2] / 5 September 2016;8 years ago (2016-09-05)
Package manager pacman-g2
Platforms i686, x86 64
Kernel type Monolithic kernel
Default
user interface
KDE Plasma Desktop - GNOME - Xfce - LXDE
License Various
Official website frugalware.org

Frugalware Linux is a general-purpose Linux distribution designed for intermediate users who are familiar with command-line operations. Early versions were based on Slackware, but it later became an independently developed distribution. Frugalware made use of the Pacman package management system from Arch Linux. [3]

Contents

History

Frugalware was founded in 2004 by Miklós Vajna. He considered Slackware's package manager pkgtools too slow, and wanted to rewrite it in C. He was told that it would never be accepted by Slackware, so Vajna started to think about founding a separate Linux distribution. He replaced Slackware's original init scripts and build system, and added Pacman, the package manager from Arch Linux. As a result, Frugalware was born. [4]

Package management

Since version 0.6 Frugalware has used the Pacman-G2 package manager. [5] It is a fork of a CVS version of the complete rewrite of Pacman by Aurelien Foret, which was not officially released at the time. [6] Previously Frugalware used a modified version of the older, monolithic Pacman by Judd Vinet.

Frugalware's packages' extension is .fpm. [7] The packages are archives that are compressed using xz. [8]

Repoman is a tool to compile source packages and automatically create and install closed-source packages. [9] With Repoman, the user can also download all packages' buildscript and recompile them with specific build options. The build options can be changed by editing a configuration file. [7] The first Frugalware release that had Repoman was Frugalware 0.3pre1. [9]

Branches

Frugalware has a -current and a -stable branch. The -current branch is updated daily, and the -stable branch gets updated every 6 months. [8]

Architectures

From the official web site, 2012: "Frugalware currently supports x86 (Pentium Pro or higher) and x86_64 (k8, aka. amd64) platforms". [8]

Releases

VersionCodenameRelease dateNotes
0.1Genesis2 November 2004
0.2Aurora28 April 2005
0.3 [10] Trantor13 October 2005 [11] 19 October 2005 (for x86-64 architecture) [12]
0.4Wanda30 March 2006
0.5Siwenna14 September 2006
0.6Terminus22 March 2007
0.7Sayshell13 October 2007
0.8Kalgan11 March 2008
0.9Solaria9 September 2008
1.0Anacreon22 March 2009
1.1Getorin7 September 2009
1.2Locris8 March 2010
1.3Haven23 August 2010
1.4Nexon13 February 2011
1.5Mores15 August 2011
1.6Fermus12 February 2012
1.7Gaia19 August 2012
1.8Cinna6 February 2013
1.9Arcturus5 November 2013
2.0Rigel16 February 2015
2.1Derowd5 September 2016

All the Frugalware releases except "Genesis" have been named after planets in science fiction books by Isaac Asimov. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linux distribution</span> Operating system based on the Linux kernel

A Linux distribution is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and often a package management system. They are often obtained from the website of each distribution, which are available for a wide variety of systems ranging from embedded devices and personal computers to servers and powerful supercomputers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandriva Linux</span> Linux distribution

Mandriva Linux is a discontinued Linux distribution developed by Mandriva S.A.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slackware</span> Linux distribution (operating system)

Slackware is a Linux distribution created by Patrick Volkerding in 1993. Originally based on Softlanding Linux System (SLS), Slackware has been the basis for many other Linux distributions, most notably the first versions of SUSE Linux distributions, and is the oldest distribution that is still maintained.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GoboLinux</span> Linux distribution

GoboLinux is a Linux distribution whose most prominent feature is a reorganization of the traditional Linux file system. Rather than following the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard like most Unix-like systems, each program in a GoboLinux system has its own subdirectory tree, where all of its files may be found. Thus, a program "Foo" has all of its specific files and libraries in /Programs/Foo, under the corresponding version of this program at hand. For example, the commonly known GCC compiler suite version 8.1.0, would reside under the directory /Programs/GCC/8.1.0.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arch Linux</span> Rolling release distribution of Linux

Arch Linux is an independently developed x86-64 general-purpose Linux distribution that strives to provide the latest stable versions of most software by following a rolling-release model. The default installation is intentionally minimal so that users can add only the packages they require.

Puppy Linux is a family of light-weight Linux distributions that focus on ease of use and minimal memory footprint. The entire system can be run from random-access memory (RAM) with current versions generally taking up about 600 MB (64-bit), 300 MB (32-bit), allowing the boot medium to be removed after the operating system has started. Applications such as AbiWord, Gnumeric and MPlayer are included, along with a choice of lightweight web browsers and a utility for downloading other packages. The distribution was originally developed by Barry Kauler and other members of the community, until Kauler retired in 2013. The tool Woof can build a Puppy Linux distribution from the binary packages of other Linux distributions.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VectorLinux</span> Linux distribution

VectorLinux, abbreviated VL, was a Linux distribution for the x86 platform based on the Slackware Linux distribution, originally developed by Canadian developers Robert S. Lange and Darell Stavem. Since version 7 the Standard Edition is also available for the x86-64 platform, known as VLocity64 7.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zenwalk</span> Slackware-based Linux distribution

Zenwalk GNU/Linux is a desktop-focused Linux distribution founded by Jean-Philippe Guillemin. It is based on Slackware with very few modifications at system level making it 100% compatible with Slackware. It aims to be a modern, multi-purpose Linux distribution by focusing on internet applications, multimedia and programming tools. It comes with many specialized tools and is designed for beginners and advanced users alike, as it offers system configuration via both graphical tools and the command line.

BioLinux is a term used in a variety of projects involved in making access to bioinformatics software on a Linux platform easier using one or more of the following methods:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabayon Linux</span> Gentoo-based Linux distribution

Sabayon Linux or Sabayon, was an Italian Gentoo-based Linux distribution created by Fabio Erculiani and the Sabayon development team. Sabayon followed the "out of the box" philosophy, aiming to give the user a wide number of applications ready to use and a self-configured operating system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salix OS</span> Linux distribution

Salix OS is a multi-purpose Linux distribution based on Slackware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porteus (operating system)</span> Portable operating system based on the Linux distribution Slackware

Porteus is a portable operating system based on Slackware. It does not require installation and can be run from fixed and removable media, such as a USB flash drive or compact disc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parabola GNU/Linux-libre</span> Linux distribution based on Arch Linux offering only free software

Parabola GNU/Linux-libre is a free and open-source Linux distribution based on Arch Linux and Arch Linux ARM for the x86-64, i686, and ARMv7 architectures. It is distinguished from other Arch-based distributions by offering only free software. It includes the GNU operating system components common to many Linux distributions and the Linux-libre kernel instead of the generic Linux kernel. Parabola is listed by the Free Software Foundation as a completely free operating system, true to their Free System Distribution Guidelines.

paldo (operating system) Linux distribution

paldo is a Linux distribution. It was originally developed by Jürg Billeter and Raffaele Sandrini and released in 2004, mainly under the GNU GPL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platypux</span> Linux distribution

Platypux was a French Linux distribution of the Slackware family, developed by Pierre-Aimé and Jacques-Olivier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manjaro</span> Linux distribution based on Arch Linux with rolling releases

Manjaro is a free and open-source Linux distribution based on the Arch Linux operating system that has a focus on user-friendliness and accessibility. It uses a rolling release update model and Pacman as its package manager. It is developed mainly in Austria, France and Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HandyLinux</span> Linux distribution

HandyLinux is a simplified Linux operating system developed in France, derived from the Debian stable branch. It was designed to be easily accessible and downloadable, so that it could be used by people with very little computer experience and on a range of older hardware that was no longer supported by the latest versions of proprietary operating systems. It was particularly aimed at older people with dated hardware who do not need nor possess the skill to use many features afforded by state-of-the-art operating systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre</span> Linux distribution

Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre is an independent Linux distribution for the i686 and x86-64 architectures using the package-manager from Arch Linux and patchsets from the Debian development. It includes the GNU operating system components and the Linux-libre kernel instead of the generic Linux kernel. Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre is listed by the Free Software Foundation as a completely free operating system, true to their Free System Distribution Guidelines.

References

  1. Frugalware 2.1 (Derowd) released
  2. Distribution Release: Frugalware Linux 2.1 (DistroWatch.com News)
  3. "Interview with Frugalware Linux Developer, VMiklos". Open Addict. Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  4. "Interview with Miklós Vajna, Frugalware Linux". DistroWatch . Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  5. "Frugalware 0.6 (Terminus) Changelog". Frugalware Project. Archived from the original (TXT) on 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  6. "Pacman-G2". Frugalware Stable Documentation. Frugalware Project. Archived from the original on 2012-01-21. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  7. 1 2 "Creating new packages". Frugalware Stable Documentation. Frugalware Project. Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  8. 1 2 3 "About Frugalware". Frugalware Stable Documentation. Frugalware Project. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-09-11.
  9. 1 2 "Frugalware 0.3pre1-i686 released". Frugalware Project. 22 June 2005. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  10. For the best in today's fashions: Frugalware | Tux Machines
  11. "Frugalware 0.3-i686 released". Frugalware Project. 13 October 2005. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  12. "Frugalware 0.3-x86_64 released". Frugalware Project. 19 October 2005. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  13. "Frugalware Roadmap". Frugalware Project. Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2009-03-02.

Further reading