Is it good to study serveral distributions other than Debian?

[NeoPjcpp]

I started to learn Linux not long ago and downloaded many books of different distros. Is it good to study other distros other than Debian?

I think it's necessary to know something about other distros but it's better just to focus on Debian. After I have a solid foundation, it's pretty easy to use others even you have never learned them. Because you can simply associate you knowledge of Debian.

Your thoughts?

[NeoPjcpp]

I'm thinking to delete all other books, but before that I would like to hear your experience.

[smolloy]

In reading books about different distros you're going to come across a lot of repetition -- the kernel, bash shell, cron, etc.

You'd get a better idea about different distros by installing a few and running them for a while. Make sure to pick significantly different distros -- for example, Ubuntu is based on Debian, so you're not going to learn a lot by dual booting those two.

Debian, Gentoo, Slackware, Suse, Redhat, ... -- that should take you a while

[daark.child]

It really depends what you want to do. If you want to work as a Linux admin or consultant, then you may need to know more than one distro. I would suggest Red Hat, SUSE and Debian because these seem to be the most popular enterprise distros.

[NeoPjcpp]

To learn is what I concern most. Isn't is kinda confusing to learn serveral distros? Maybe keep the system as simple as possible is the best way? It has something to do with your emotional center.

[smolloy]

Everyone is different, but when I started using Linux I kept 2 or 3 (sometimes more!) distros installed at the same time. I'd do my best to optimise and tweak each one, learning as much as I can. After a while I'd get bored of one and delete it, or get interested in some other distro that I hadn't tried yet and install it.

I found that a great way to learn about different linux'es, but, as I said, everyone is different.

[oz]

Your thoughts?

I would recommend having books on hand for whatever distribution you are running at the time. If you change distros, change books.

The majority of Linux users become "distro hoppers" at some point, so I wouldn't delete any books just yet. If you have lots of drive space, store them off for later use and reference purposes.

Have fun with Linux.

[NeoPjcpp]

I found that a great way to learn about different linux'es, but, as I said, everyone is different.

Right on, man. I think I'm belong to the man of simplicity. Java/Python type of person rather than that of PHP.

I would recommend having books on hand for whatever distribution you are running at the time. If you change distros, change books.

The majority of Linux users become "distro hoppers" at some point, so I wouldn't delete any books just yet. If you have lots of drive space, store them off for later use and reference purposes.

Have fun with Linux.

I just copied those books to a friend (who's also just starting learn Linux), so he will back it up for me. Personally, I don't see the point of using multiple distros yet. Maybe someday I'll change.

Thanks, I'll not just have fun with it, it'll be like a religion.

[smolloy]

Thanks, I'll not just have fun with it, it'll be like a religion.

I hear ya

[jayd512]

Personally, I like to keep up on how to use all the distros I can. Who knows when I'll get the urge to install something different? I've never ran a Debian based distro, but I like to think that, thanks to my time on the Forums, I could manage a system fairly well. But I still mainly focus on mastering whatever OS I happen to be running at the time.

I say learn them all.