Using Which Version of Linux

[Jeffrey Schwab]

blah at blah.blah wrote:
> ok, i m going to use Linux for my Python Programs, mainly because i 
> need to see what will these fork() and exec() do. So, can anyone tell 
> me which flavour of linux i should use, some say that Debian is more 
> programmer friendly, or shold i use fedora, or Solaris. Because these 
> three are the only ones i know of that are popular and free.

Solaris isn't Linux, but it is good.  I've never installed it from 
scratch, though.

I might get lambasted for suggesting this, but try Slackware.  It will 
let you do a very minimal installation, which means there's less stuff 
that can go wrong.  It also has nice, beginner-friendly FAQs to help you 
get started.  Like the other distros already suggested, it comes with 
the graphical desktop environments Gnome and KDE, too.

If at all possible, have another computer available with a working 
internet connection and a floppy disc drive or CD burner.

Like Maciej said, if you have a buddy nearby who is already an expert on 
a particular distro, try that distro.  This is especially true for 
distros like Gentoo that have...  their own way of doing things. :)