NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Damn Small Linux

Damn Small Linux (also known as DSL or DSLinux) is a Linux distribution originally conceived as an operating system to run on lower specification systems, including computers which would otherwise come out of use. The distribution contrasts to most other Linux distributions by ranking hardware requirements of programs above other considerations. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 151 KB)Damn Small Linux 1. ... A website (or Web site) is a collection of web pages, images, videos and other digital assets and hosted on a particular domain or subdomain on the World Wide Web. ... The term software company could be applied to; a) a company that produces software or b) a company that distributes software from a third party or c) a company that provides services for software. ... A software developer is a person who is concerned with one or more facets of the software development process, a somewhat broader scope of computer programming or a specialty of project managing. ... Linux (IPA pronunciation: ) is a Unix-like computer operating system family. ... Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ... January 18 is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... A kernel connects the application software to the hardware of a computer. ... Graphical overview of a monolithic kernel A monolithic kernel defines a high-level virtual interface over the hardware, with a set of primitives or system calls to implement operating system services such as process management, concurrency, and memory management in several modules that run in supervisor mode. ... The user interface is the part of a system exposed to users. ... }} }}{{#if:|}}{{#if:Unix-like|}}{{#if:|}} }}{{#if:MIT|}} In Unix (and others including GNU/Linux) computing, Fluxbox is a window manager for the X Window System based on Blackbox 0. ... A software license is a legal agreement which may take the form of a proprietary or gratuitous license as well as a memorandum of contract between a producer and a user of computer software. ... Free and Open Source Software, also F/OSS or FOSS, is software which is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code. ... It has been suggested that Linux be merged into this article or section. ...

As of December 31, 2006, DSL ranks as the eighth most popular distribution tracked on DistroWatch (which measures comparative popularity based on page views). This provides evidence of strong enthusiasm for operating systems capable of running on lower-end hardware. December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Distrowatch is a website devoted to tracking, categorising and advertising Linux distributions. ...

Due to the small size of the complete distribution, it will run on smaller storage devices than most other operating systems, including bootable business card, 64 MB USB flash drive, CompactFlash card (through IDE connector) and ZIP drive.^[1] A bootable business card is a CD-ROM that has been cut, pressed, or molded to the size and shape of a business card (designed to fit in your wallet or pocket). ... A USB flash drive, shown with a 24 mm U.S. quarter coin for scale. ... A 64 MB CompactFlash Type I card A 32 MB High Speed CompactFlash Type I card CompactFlash (CF) was originally a type of data storage device, used in portable electronic devices. ... Iomega ZIP-100 Drive Logo An internal Zip drive. ...

Origins

Damn Small Linux was originally conceived and maintained by John Andrews, but has grown into a large community project with many contributors, most notably Robert Shingledecker for the creation of the MyDSL system, DSL Control Panel, and much more.

Although Andrews originally based DSL on Model K, a 22 MB hack-down of Knoppix, DSL is now based on Knoppix proper, allowing much easier remastering and improvements. Knoppix, also spelled as KNOPPIX, is a computer operating system which can be used as a live CD. It is a Debian based Linux distribution, developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. ... Knoppix, also spelled as KNOPPIX, is a computer operating system which can be used as a live CD. It is a Debian based Linux distribution, developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. ...

Features

The current version of DSL is 3.2, as of January 18, 2007. In this version the programs that are included are: January 18 is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ...

DSL has built in scripts for the download and installation of Debian's Advanced Packaging Tool (APT), and Synaptic, a GUI front-end to APT. Once the repositories are enabled, (as of 3.0.1) it draws from the rather old Debian Woody repository. Additionally, Damn Small Linux provides on-demand download for large programs such as OpenOffice.org and the GNU Compiler Collection as well as smaller apps like XMMS by means of the MyDSL system, which allows users the convenience of 1-click download and installation of apps (although most DSL users refer to all things MyDSL as extensions). As of December 7, 2004, the MyDSL servers are hosting over 200 apps, plugins, and other extensions available for installation. An example of a web browser (Mozilla Firefox), displaying the English Wikipedia main page. ... Mozilla Firefox is a graphical web browser developed by the Mozilla Corporation and a large community of external contributors. ... Dillo is a small (~350 kB), very fast, and free software minimalistic multi-platform web browser written in C using the GTK+ graphical toolkit which was first released in December 1999. ... Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS), its successor, are cryptographic protocols which provide secure communications on the Internet. ... Look up Frame in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sylpheed is an email and news client based on the GTK+ library. ... The GIMP Toolkitâ€”abbreviated, and almost exclusively known, as GTK+â€”is one of the two most popular widget toolkits for the X Window System for creating graphical user interfaces. ... A FTP client uses the FTP protocol to connect to an FTP server to transfer files. ... FTP or File Transfer Protocol is used to transfer data from one computer to another over the Internet, or through a network. ... In computing, Secure shell, or SSH, is both a computer program and an associated network protocol designed for logging into and executing commands on a remote computer. ... Secure Copy or SCP is a means of securely transferring computer files between a local and a remote host or between two remote hosts, using the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol. ... (DHCP) is a set of rules used by a communications device such as a computer, router or network adapter to allow the device to request and obtain an IP address from a server which has a list of addresses available for assignment. ... In computing, the Point-to-Point Protocol, or PPP, is commonly used to establish a direct connection between two nodes. ... PPPoE, point-to-point protocol over Ethernet, is a network protocol for encapsulating PPP frames in Ethernet frames. ... Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is a form of DSL, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional modem can provide. ... A calculator is a device for performing calculations. ... Ghostscript is a suite of software based on an interpreter of the Adobe PostScript and Portable Document Format (PDF) page description languages. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... UnionFS is a Linux filesystem service which implements a union mount for Linux file systems. ... Tug of war is an easily organized, impromptu game that requires little equipment. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Note: USB may also mean upper sideband in radio. ... Official Wi-Fi logo Wi-Fi is a brand originally licensed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to describe the underlying technology of wireless local area networks (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802. ... Portable Computer Cards (PC cards) are interchangeable peripherals designed to be inserted into laptop computers in order to enable extra hardware functions. ... Network File System (NFS), a protocol originally developed by Sun Microsystems in 1984 and defined in RFCs 1094, 1813, and 3530 (obsoletes 3010) as a distributed file system, allows a user on a client computer to access files over a network as easily as if attached to its local disks. ... Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE) is a Free (GPL and LGPLed) Unix kernel module that allows non-privileged users to create their own file systems without the need to write any kernel code. ... SSHFS (Secure SHell FileSystem) is a file system for Linux capable of operating on files on a remote computer using just a secure shell login on the remote computer. ... SIAG (Scheme in a grid) is a spreadsheet application using SIOD as a base. ... Screenshot of a spreadsheet made with OpenOffice. ... Screenshot of Ted 2. ... A word processor (also more formally known as a document preparation system) is a computer application used for the production (including composition, editing, formatting, and possibly printing) of any sort of viewable or printed material. ... Beaver is an Early AdVanced EditoR, for Linux, Unix and Windows. ... Vim, which stands for Vi IMproved, is an open source, multiplatform text editor extended from vi. ... Nano is a text editor for Unix and Unix-like systems, licensed under the GNU General Public License. ... XPaint XPaint is a color image editing tool which features most standard paint program options. ... xzgv is an image viewer for X-windows that incorporates a thumbnail-based file selector. ... Xpdf is a free software PDF viewer for the X Window System and Motif. ... XMMSs default appearance The X Multimedia System (XMMS) is a free audio player very similar to Winamp, that runs on many Unix-like operating systems. ... emelFM2 is an orthodox file manager which utilizes the GTK+ 2 for X11 on Unix-like operating systems. ... A file manager is a computer program that provides a user interface to work with file systems. ... naim is a minimalist messaging and chat program written by Daniel Reed which supports the protocols AIM, ICQ, IRC, and lily (CMC). ... Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a desktop sharing system which uses the RFB (Remote FrameBuffer) protocol to remotely control another computer. ... rdesktop is a RDP client for most Unix-like systems such as BSD and Linux. ... Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a package management system used by Debian and its derivatives. ... The word synaptic refers to the synapse in neuroanatomy. ... GUI can refer to the following: GUI is short for graphical user interface, a term used to describe a type of interface in computing. ... OpenOffice. ... The GNU Compiler Collection (usually shortened to GCC) is a set of programming language compilers produced by the GNU Project. ... XMMSs default appearance The X Multimedia System (XMMS) is a free audio player very similar to Winamp, that runs on many Unix-like operating systems. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Boot options

Boot options are also known as 'cheat codes'. Automatic hardware detection may fail, or the user may want to use something other than the default settings. For this, DSL allows the user to enter one or more cheat codes at the prompt before booting. If the user does not enter a cheat code, or if no key is pressed before the time-out, DSL will boot with its default options. Cheat codes affect many auto-detection and hardware options. Many cheat codes also affect the GUI. The list of cheat codes is available on the Knoppix mirrors, and can be seen at boot time. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 81 KB) Summary Damn Small Linux Licensing See also Wikipedia article about Damn Small Linux File links The following pages link to this file: Damn Small Linux ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 81 KB) Summary Damn Small Linux Licensing See also Wikipedia article about Damn Small Linux File links The following pages link to this file: Damn Small Linux ... A USB flash drive, shown with a 24 mm U.S. quarter coin for scale. ...

DSL can also be easily run inside the QEMU emulator under Windows or Linux, or the Q emulator on Mac OS X. Since this does not require a reboot, this further reduces the requirements for trying out or demonstrating Linux. It has been suggested that Qemu-Launcher be merged into this article or section. ... Q [kju:] is an emulator - a program that simulates a second computer - allowing to run a multitude of operating systems like Windows within Mac OS X. It is free, pretty fast, and based on QEMU. External links Official Homepage Macupdate listing How to Run Windows on an Intel Mac with...

The MyDSL system

The MyDSL extensions and servers are handled and maintained by Ke4nt and hosted by many kind organizations, such as ibiblio and Belgium's Belnet. There are 2 areas of the MyDSL servers - regular and testing. The "regular" area contains extensions that have been proven stable enough for everyday use and is broken down into different areas such as "Apps", "Net", "system", and "uci" (Universal Compressed ISO - extensions in .uci format mount as a separate filesystem to save RAM space). The Testing Area is for newly submitted extensions that theoretically work "as advertised", but may have any number of bugs. A nickname of this among DSL developers is "Stuffing the Penguin". ibiblio (formerly SunSITE and MetaLab) is a collection of collections, and hosts a diverse range of publicly available information and open source software. ... Random Access Memory (usually known by its acronym, RAM) is a type of data storage used in computers. ...

Versions

April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (106th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 165 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 6 is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... January 18 is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ...

Xbox Version (X-DSL)

Damn Small Linux was also ported to the Xbox, which is made possible due to its low memory requirements. It can be run as a LiveCD on a modded Xbox or installed to the Xbox hard drive. It will automatically boot into the X11-based GUI, where the Xbox controller can be used to control the mouse pointer and a virtual keyboard to enter text. X-DSL has a Fluxbox desktop, with applications for email, web browsing, word processing and playing music. It can be customized with new applications by downloading myDSL extensions. This gives it the memory advantage over other current XBOX Linux OSes. The XBOX Game system boasts a 733 MHz Intel Pentium III processor, 64 MB of RAM (upgradeable to 128 MB) and a 10 GB Hard Drive. Specifications that far outweigh the needs of DSL providing a distinct advantage over other distributions requiring a more powerful system to operate. Users have also found ways to use USB Pen Drives to boot DSL under an XBOX, using a combination of a mod chip and a USB memory card insert used for Phantasy Star Online communicator inserts, which plugs into the memory card slot and include one usb 1.1 port. See also: Xbox 360 The Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console produced by Microsoft Corporation. ... }} }}{{#if:|}}{{#if:Unix-like|}}{{#if:|}} }}{{#if:MIT|}} In Unix (and others including GNU/Linux) computing, Fluxbox is a window manager for the X Window System based on Blackbox 0. ...

Live CD

DSL can boot on a PC without a hard drive. It uses a ramdisk to load essential files in the RAM. The DSL Live CD can run the X Window system, has a nearly complete desktop, and many command line tools. Apple Macintoshes like the iMac Core Duo are personal computers. ... A ramdisk is a filesystem that resides in volatile, random access memory. ... Look up RAM, Ram, ram in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

System requirements

DSL is available for x86 architectures only. This includes 386, 486, Pentium, Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium 4, AMD K6, AMD Athlon, and VIA C3. DSL has been demonstrated browsing the web with Dillo, playing games and music on systems with 486 processor and 16Mb RAM. However, higher system requirements may be needed to run Firefox and guest packages such as OpenOffice. The Intel 80386 is a microprocessor which was used as the central processing unit (CPU) of many personal computers from 1986 until 1994 and later. ... // Overview The exposed die of an Intel 80486DX2 microprocessor. ... Pentium logo, with MMX enhancement The Pentium is a fifth-generation x86 architecture microprocessor from Intel. ... Pentium II â€“ front view The Pentium II is an x86 architecture microprocessor by Intel, introduced on May 7, 1997. ... Pentium III logo The Pentium III is an x86 (more precisely, an i686) architecture microprocessor by Intel, introduced on February 26, 1999. ... The Pentium 4 was a seventh-generation x86 architecture microprocessor produced by Intel and was the companys first all-new CPU design since the Pentium Pro of 1995. ... History 1997 saw the arrival of AMDs K6 microprocessor. ... Athlon is the brand name applied to a series of different x86 processors designed and manufactured by AMD. The original Athlon, or Athlon Classic, was the first seventh-generation x86 processor and, in a first, retained the initial performance lead it had over Intels competing processors for a significant... The VIA C3 is an x86 central processing unit for personal computers produced by VIA Technologies. ...

Other versions

One can use different floppies to boot: bootfloppy.img and bootfloppy-usb.img An ISO image (.iso) is an informal term for a disk image of an ISO 9660 file system. ... Knoppix, also spelled as KNOPPIX, is a computer operating system which can be used as a live CD. It is a Debian based Linux distribution, developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. ... LILO (LInux LOader) is a boot loader for Linux developed by John Coffman. ... In computing, booting is a bootstrapping process that starts operating systems when the user turns on a computer system. ... The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) defines the main directories and their contents in Linux and other Unix-like computer operating systems. ... The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) defines the main directories and their contents in Linux and other Unix-like computer operating systems. ... Look up Upgrade on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Upgrading is the process of replacing an older thing with a newer thing. ... MB may mean: MegaByte or Megabit Bachelor of Medicine, an academic degree (Latin Medicinae Baccleureus) Honda MB, a Honda 50 cc motorcycle from the early 1980s Manitoba, Canada: postal code Manned Base, in military parlance Marching Band, a group of people that play instruments while marching in unison to form... The SYSLINUX Project covers a suite of lightweight bootloaders, for starting up computers in the Linux operating system. ... The GIMP Toolkitâ€”abbreviated, and almost exclusively known, as GTK+â€”is one of the two most popular widget toolkits for the X Window System for creating graphical user interfaces. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Disk image. ...

References

Contents

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