Frugalware Linux
OS family | Unix-like |
---|---|
Working state | Current |
Source model | Open source |
Latest release | 2.0 (Rigel) / 16 February 2015 |
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 |
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 is now an independently developed distribution. Frugalware uses the Pacman package management system from Arch Linux.[1]
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.[2]
Package management
Since version 0.6 Frugalware has used the Pacman-G2 package manager.[3] 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.[4] Previously Frugalware used a modified version of the older, monolithic Pacman by Judd Vinet.
Frugalware's packages' extension is .fpm
.[5] The packages are archives that are compressed using xz.[6]
Repoman is a tool to compile source packages and automatically create and install closed-source packages.[7] 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.[5] The first Frugalware release that had Repoman was Frugalware 0.3pre1.[7]
Branches
Frugalware has a -current
and a -stable
branch. The -current
branch is updated daily, and the -stable
branch gets updated every 6 months.[6]
Architectures
From the official web site, 2012: "Frugalware currently supports x86 (Pentium Pro or higher) and x86_64 (k8, aka. amd64) platforms".[6]
Releases
Version | Codename | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
0.1 | Genesis | 2 November 2004 | |
0.2 | Aurora | 28 April 2005 | |
0.3 | Trantor | 13 October 2005[8] | 19 October 2005 (for x86-64 architecture)[9] |
0.4 | Wanda | 30 March 2006 | |
0.5 | Siwenna | 14 September 2006 | |
0.6 | Terminus | 22 March 2007 | |
0.7 | Sayshell | 13 October 2007 | |
0.8 | Kalgan | 11 March 2008 | |
0.9 | Solaria | 9 September 2008 | |
1.0 | Anacreon | 22 March 2009 | |
1.1 | Getorin | 7 September 2009 | |
1.2 | Locris | 8 March 2010 | |
1.3 | Haven | 23 August 2010 | |
1.4 | Nexon | 13 February 2011 | |
1.5 | Mores | 15 August 2011 | |
1.6 | Fermus | 12 February 2012 | |
1.7 | Gaia | 19 August 2012 | |
1.8 | Cinna | 6 February 2013 | |
1.9 | Arcturus | 5 November 2013 | |
2.0 | Rigel | 16 February 2015 | |
2.1 | 11 September 2016 |
All the Frugalware releases except "Genesis" have been named after planets in science fiction books by Isaac Asimov.[10]
References
- ^ "Interview with Frugalware Linux Developer, VMiklos". Open Addict. Retrieved 2008-02-27.[dead link]
- ^ "Interview with Miklós Vajna, Frugalware Linux". DistroWatch. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
- ^ "Frugalware 0.6 (Terminus) Changelog" (TXT). Frugalware Project. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ "Pacman-G2". Frugalware Stable Documentation. Frugalware Project. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
- ^ a b "Creating new packages". Frugalware Stable Documentation. Frugalware Project. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
- ^ a b c "About Frugalware". Frugalware Stable Documentation. Frugalware Project. Retrieved 2011-09-11.
- ^ a b "Frugalware 0.3pre1-i686 released". Frugalware Project. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ "Frugalware 0.3-i686 released". Frugalware Project. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ "Frugalware 0.3-x86_64 released". Frugalware Project. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ "Frugalware Roadmap". Frugalware Project. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
Further reading
- St. Pierre, Preston (10 May 2006). "Review: Frugalware Linux". Linux.com.
- Rocco, Davide (18 April 2006). "My desktop OS: Frugalware". Linux.com.