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ALT Linux is a set of Russian
operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...
s based on
RPM Package Manager RPM Package Manager (RPM) (originally Red Hat Package Manager, now a recursive acronym) is a free and open-source package management system. The name RPM refers to the file format and the package manager program itself. RPM was intended primaril ...
(RPM) and built on a
Linux kernel The Linux kernel is a free and open-source, monolithic, modular, multitasking, Unix-like operating system kernel. It was originally authored in 1991 by Linus Torvalds for his i386-based PC, and it was soon adopted as the kernel for the GNU ope ...
and Sisyphus package repository. ALT Linux has been developed collectively by ALT Linux Team developers community and ALT Linux Ltd.


History

ALT Linux Team arose from the merger of IPLabs Linux Team and the Linux community of the Institute of Logic, Cognitive Science and Development of Personality. The latter cooperated with
Mandrake Linux Mandriva Linux (a fusion of the French distribution Mandrake Linux and the Brazilian distribution Conectiva Linux) is a discontinued Linux distribution developed by Mandriva S.A. Each release lifetime was 18 months for base updates (Linux, system ...
and SUSE Linux teams to improve localization (specifically
Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, ...
), producing a Linux-Mandrake Russian Edition (RE). Mandrake and Mandrake RE became different distributions and thus the decision was made to create a separate project. The name ''ALT'' was coined, which is a
recursive acronym A recursive acronym is an acronym that refers to itself, and appears most frequently in computer programming. The term was first used in print in 1979 in Douglas Hofstadter's book '' Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid'', in which Hof ...
meaning ''ALT Linux Team''. The split led to the creation of the Sisyphus package repository, which is an unstable branch of the ALT Linux development. In 2007, the Sisyphus repository won a prestigious CNews award in nomination for Information Security.


Releases


Version history


Linux-Mandrake

''Linux-Mandrake 7.0 Russian Edition'', released in the beginning of 2000, was the first de facto independent distribution of IPLabs Linux Team. It kept the name ''Mandrake'' with permission from Mandrake developers. ''Spring 2001'' was the second IPLabs Linux team release, released several months later.


ALT Linux 1.0

Since the summer of 2001, ALT Linux Team has been formed and the ALT Linux name has been established. The first ALT Linux release was ''ALT Linux Junior 1.0'', released in summer of 2001, followed by the updated ''ALT Linux Junior 1.1'' in autumn of 2001. Junior distributions were 1CD releases.


ALT Linux 2.*

''ALT Linux Master 2.0'', released in May 2002, was the 4CD all-purpose Linux distribution targeted for software developers and system administrators. ''ALT Linux Junior 2.0'' was released in summer of 2002, as a 1CD desktop/workstation-oriented release.


ALT Linux 3.0

ALT Linux Compact 3.0 was released during autumn 2005, and consisted of 1CD/1DVD installable versions along with LiveCD (TravelCD 3.0). There were several subsequent OEM updates counting up to 3.0.5.


ALT Linux 4.0

These series changed the official naming somewhat to be ''ALT Linux 4.0 $flavour''. * Server was released in June 2007 (1CD+1DVD per platform; i586 and x86_64); * Office Server quickly followed (1CD; i586 and x86_64); * Desktop Personal in August 2007 (1DVD, LiveCD, Rescue CD; i586; KDE3); * Lite in December 2007 (installation CD, live CD and 2CD with addons; i586; Xfce4); * Terminal in December 2007 (joint release with Media Magic Ltd, 1DVD; i586; KDE3, low client RAM requirements). There was also a more conservative ''school 4.0 branch'' maintained for the Russian schools pilot project, and several distributions specifically tailored for schools released using that as a base.


ALT Linux 4.1

* Desktop was released in October 2008 (1CD/1DVD; i586 and x86_64; KDE3); * Children in December 2008 (LiveCD; i586); * Skif in December 2008 (1CD; x86_64; HPC); * School Server in February 2009 (1CD; i586).


ALT Linux 5.x

The 5.0 branch was canceled mainly due to stormy X.org conditions (and subsequently archived); 5.1 community branch was created along with p5 ''conservative'' branch later in 2009. Somewhat confusingly, distributions based on the p5/branch were numbered as ALT Linux 5.0: * Ark (client+server suite, 1DVD+1CD per platform; i586 and x86_64); * School Suite – mostly i586, also including docs, video lessons and free software for Windows (3DVD): ** Server (1DVD; i586 and x86_64); ** Terminal (1DVD; KDE3); ** Master (1DVD/flash; KDE4); ** Junior (1DVD/flash; GNOME2); ** Lite (2CD; Xfce4); ** New Lite (1CD/1DVD/flash; LXDE); * KDesktop (1DVD; i586 and x86_64; KDE4); * Simply Linux 5.0 (1CD/flash/LiveCD; i586; Xfce4).


Lite

A small single-CD distribution for older/low-memory computers, with Xfce as default desktop. Available in normal and
Live CD A live CD (also live DVD, live disc, or live operating system) is a complete bootable computer installation including operating system which runs directly from a CD-ROM or similar storage device into a computer's memory, rather than loading fro ...
versions. Rather superseded by LXDE-based New Lite.


Compact

''Compact'' is a series of ALT Linux distributions tailored for beginner users. It is mostly used on workstations, home computers, and notebooks. It includes additional means for easy configuration, many office and multimedia applications, and some games. ''Compact'' was also a popular choice for
OEM An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...
whitelabeling, i.e., creating a specific edition for various hardware vendors to bundle with their hardware. Linux ''ALT Linux Server'' is a hardened server single CD distribution. It is certified by Federal department of technical and expert control of Russia in the following categories: * by the level of monitoring for non-declared features – level 4 * class of protection from unauthorized access to information – class 5 me>


Terminal

''ALT Linux Terminal'' is a terminal server distribution based on ALT Linux Desktop and ALTSP5: a friendly/merging fork of
Linux Terminal Server Project Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) is a free and open source terminal server for Linux that allows many people to simultaneously use the same computer. Applications run on the server with a terminal known as a thin client (also known as an X te ...
(LTSP) which is usable on older hardware acting as
thin Thin may refer to: * a lean body shape. ''(See also: emaciation, underweight)'' * ''Thin'' (film), a 2006 HBO documentary about eating disorders * Paper Thin (disambiguation), referring to multiple songs * Thin (web server), a Ruby web-server b ...
and diskless clients (16 MB RAM is enough, while stock LTSP5 usually requires ≥ 64 MB RAM). It was also adapted for Russian School Education National Project School software list free software package.


References


External links


Community websitein English

Sisyphus package repository
on which Alt Linux is based * *


Reviews


ALT Linux 5 Ark desktop review

Customizing ALT Linux 5 Ark desktop

Simply Linux 5 review

Customizing Simply Linux 5

How to install Cairo-Dock on Simply Linux 5
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alt Linux RPM-based Linux distributions X86-64 Linux distributions Linux distributions Russian-language Linux distributions