30 years ago, Patrick Volkerding presented the first release of the Slackware Linux distribution, which has since influenced many projects and remains the oldest existing distribution. One of the most famous branches from Slackware is Suse Linux. Other notable modifications that have stemmed from Slackware include Salix, Slax, Slackel, Porteus, Zenwalk, and Absolute Linux. [1][2][3][4][5][6]
The initial version of Slackware was based on the Linux 0.99PL10 kernel and compiled using GCC 2.4.5. It featured the XFREE-86 1.3 graphical environment and the Open Look window manager. The distribution reached its peak popularity between 1994 and 1996, during which it held a leading position among other systems. Notably, Slackware was the first distribution to release versions based on the Linux 1.0 and 2.0 kernels, preceding releases from Debian and Red Hat. Despite the emergence of other projects such as Debian, Red Hat, and Suse, Slackware has endured and continues to receive updates. [7]
The long life of Slackware can be attributed to the unwavering enthusiasm of Patrick Volkerding, who remains the leader and main developer of the project after three decades. Additionally, the distribution has maintained its originality and simplicity in its organizational structure. Its lack of complexity and use of a simple initialization system in the style of classic BSD systems have made it an interesting choice for studying UNIX-like systems, conducting experiments, and familiarizing oneself with Linux. [8]