this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2023
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Oh boy, here I go distro-hopping again.
Just kidding - you can pry Slackware from my cold, dead hands.
Challenge accepted
Why do you use slackware?
It's more stable than Debian and more simple in design than Arch.
It basically doesn't do anything, except run your hardware and software, and that's all an OS should do.
More stable than debian sounds terrifying
And pretty hard to achieve, considering breaking Debian is borderline an endeavour.
I use "stable" not in the sense of "doesn't break", but in the sense of "doesn't change its behaviour".
Debian is rock solid, but Slackware is the most stable in the sense that it still looks and works pretty much exactly like it did 10-20 years ago.
That lack of dependency management tho...
...is irrelevant due to how Slackware works.
It installs all dependencies for the entire official repo right from the start.
Because it is predictable and doesn't suck.
Has the package manager improved? Can it automatically handle dependencies?
Slackware works differently than other distros. After a default installation, dependency tracking is pointless because you install its entire repository up front.
If you need something that isn't in the repository, you've got Slackbuilds that work just like Arch's AUR. Or you can use third party repos with their own package managers, semi-official tools with depedency checking, flatpaks or whatever else you want. The point is, how you manage your packages is your choice. The default package manager is just a helpful bash script.
People wouldn't be talking about the lack of dependency management of it didn't cause.some problems somewhere, so where could it be? Third party stuff I guess?
"Slackware has no dependency management" is a meme as old as Debian, and basically the only thing people know about it.
Fact is, you install additional packages from Slackbuilds, and there's a tool that resolves dependencies for that (slpkg). It's not officially supported but well-maintained and it works. So in practice, it works the same way as Arch's AUR (where absolutely everyone uses yay even though it is also not officially supported or recommended).
So, the fact that the default package manager doesn't resolve dependencies is irrelevant in practice. What is relevant, and an actual valid criticism of Slackware, is that the default installation isn't minimal or tailored to you, and should't be changed unless you absolutely know what you're doing. It gives you a wide variety of software for all kinds of tasks that wasn't chosen by you, but by benevolent dictator Patrick Volkerding. And his choices are very different from what's become the de facto Linux standard today (e.g. Calligra instead of LibreOffice).
My take on it is that Slackware is the perfect OS for maybe 100,000 people on earth, and I happen to be one of them.