VectorLinux, abbreviated VL, was a

Linux distribution A Linux distribution, often abbreviated as distro, is an operating system that includes the Linux kernel for its kernel functionality. Although the name does not imply product distribution per se, a distro—if distributed on its own—is oft ...

for the

x86 x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel, based on the 8086 microprocessor and its 8-bit-external-bus variant, the 8088. Th ...

platform based on the

Slackware 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 distr ...

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 x86-64 (also known as x64, x86_64, AMD64, and Intel 64) is a 64-bit extension of the x86 instruction set architecture, instruction set. It was announced in 1999 and first available in the AMD Opteron family in 2003. It introduces two new ope ...

platform, known as VLocity64 7.

Editions

Four editions of VectorLinux are maintained: SOHO, Standard, Light and Live.

SOHO Edition (Discontinued after version 7.0)

The SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) Edition is designed for modern computers and is based on the

KDE KDE is an international free software community that develops free and open-source software. As a central development hub, it provides tools and resources that enable collaborative work on its projects. Its products include the KDE Plasma gra ...

desktop environment. Applications include

LibreOffice LibreOffice () is a free and open-source office productivity software suite developed by The Document Foundation (TDF). It was created in 2010 as a fork of OpenOffice.org, itself a successor to StarOffice. The suite includes applications ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, the

GIMP Gimp or GIMP may refer to: Clothing * Bondage suit, also called a gimp suit, a type of suit used in BDSM * Bondage mask, also called a gimp mask, often worn in conjunction with a gimp suit Embroidery and crafts * Gimp (thread), an ornamental tr ...

, Xsane,

CUPS CUPS (formerly an acronym for Common UNIX Printing System) is a modular printing system for Unix-like computer operating systems which allows a computer to act as a print server. A computer running CUPS is a host that can accept print jobs ...

, Xara Xtreme, financial applications, and others. A deluxe edition of SOHO, which contains additional applications, is also available.

Standard Edition

Standard Edition is a freely downloadable distribution based on

Xfce Xfce or XFCE (pronounced as four individual letters, ) is a Free and open-source software, free and open-source desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. Xfce aims to be fast and Lightweight software, lightweight whil ...

and specifically designed for use on older computers with slower processors and less RAM. The Deluxe Standard Version contains the standard edition plus numerous additional applications specific to that VL version. Additional included applications are Libreoffice and GIMP among many others.

Light Edition

The Light Edition is designed for older computers with limited resources. Version 7.2 is based upon the

IceWM IceWM is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, originally written by Marko Maček. It was written from scratch in C++ and is released under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License. It is customizable, relatively light ...

window manager. It is supplied with Seamonkey as the browser/email client/html editor and includes some of the applications found in the Standard Edition. Additional applications are available through the package manager or by compiling user applications. Light Edition is usable on computers with 256 MB of RAM.

Live Edition

The Live Editions are

bootable In computing, booting is the process of starting a computer as initiated via hardware such as a physical button on the computer or by a software command. After it is switched on, a computer's central processing unit (CPU) has no software in ...

CDROMs which contain the VectorLinux operating system on the CD. This enables the user to test a distribution on a system without the need of re-partitioning and installing to the hard drive. It is also possible to install VectorLinux from the Live Edition CD. VectorLinux presently has two Live Editions: Standard and SOHO. The latest edition is a preview of the Deluxe Edition. The

SuperGamer SuperGamer is a Linux distribution for the x86 platform originally based on the PCLinuxOS distribution, and is currently based on VectorLinux. Focusing on Linux gaming, gaming, it is designed to be run directly from a Live DVD. Features Availab ...

distribution is based on the ''VectorLinux'' code base. Version 7.1 does not have a live edition. Version 7.2 Standard (XFCE) has a live edition. Version 7.2 Light (IceWM) does not have a live edition.

Features

One prominent feature that all VL versions have in common is the standard installation of system administration applications: VasmCC handles system configuration, while slapt-get with its GUI front-end Gslapt manages software installation and removal. VasmCC stands for 'Vector Administrative and Services Menu Control Center', and it configures everything from disk partitions to

X.Org Server X.Org Server is the free and open-source implementation of the X Window System (X11) display server stewarded by the X.Org Foundation. Implementations of the client-side X Window System protocol exist in the form of ''X11 libraries'', which ...

. In addition to offering a GUI interface, a text mode parallel to the GUI VasmCC is available. VasmCC has been available since Vector 2.0 was released and has been upgraded continually over the years, with the addition of GUI functionality in SOHO 3.2. Configuration tools like netconfig and alsaconf are also available in Vector. Gslapt is a GUI front-end to the slapt-get software management tool. Combined with lzma-compression and dependency tracking, the inclusion of Gslapt offers VectorLinux users the ability to quickly install and remove software while avoiding so-called '

dependency hell Dependency hell is a colloquial term for the frustration of some software users who have installed software packages which have dependencies on specific versions of other software packages. The dependency issue arises when several packages ha ...

.' File compression via

lzma The Lempel–Ziv–Markov chain algorithm (LZMA) is an algorithm used to perform lossless data compression. It has been used in the 7z format of the 7-Zip archiver since 2001. This algorithm uses a dictionary compression scheme somewhat similar ...

allows low and high bandwidth users alike to minimize download times.

Package management

Two graphical frontends have been written for slapt-get, the backwards-compatible dependency-tracking extension to Slackware's package tools used by VectorLinux. VL-APT was the first, written originally by the Vector developers to serve the need for GUI package installation and management, while gslapt was written by the original developers of slapt-get for the same purpose. Until recently, either option has been viable; however, recent changes in the slapt-get packaging format have made VL-APT obsolete, and the developers of Vector have consequently promoted gslapt as the preferred method of graphical package management. VL-APT (now deprecated) and gslapt are configured by default to use Vector's repository, which offers the majority of most users' needs. However, alternative sources, including mirrors of the official archives around the world, can be added through their respective configuration menus, or directly, through the textual slapt-getrc configuration. There is criticism, at least partially justified, regarding the size of the Vector package selection. These deficiencies have stimulated significant volunteer and developer response, and many desired software packages have now entered the Vector repository. In fact, it is not uncommon to use the information in /etc/slackware-version in Vector to download and install Slackware packages from LinuxPackages(dot)net, a common

repository, GnomeSlackBuild, etc. Vector Linux uses .tlz packages (LZMA-packed), though .tbz and .tgz are supported too. Pkgtools are taken from Tukaani Linux project and are non-standard - there are improvements over standard pkgtools in speed of operation, but have not been updated for a while.

References

External links

* Dead Link! found @ or *
VectorLinux 7: Fast, Flexible, and Supported - OS News

* tuxmachines.org
Vector Linux SOHO 5.9 Deluxe -- Not Just For The Office - O'Reilly News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vectorlinux Slackware Linux distributions without systemd Discontinued Linux distributions Linux distributions