Is there a distro or method of getting source code for all my applications

[forever--faithless]

I want to be able to dip in and out of source code and fix bugs in my applications when I find them, and also read code if I want to see how something is done. As far as I know most distros dont ship with all the source code, just the kernel code. This means every time I want to fix something I have to go find the source code for the application first, instead of just jumping in. Are there any solutions?

[i92guboj]

Use a source based distro. I recommend Gentoo, which is what I use. In Gentoo everything is compiled from source. Be warned that that means long installation times.

I recommend the manual installation method, using the handbook. The graphical installator is very buggy and anyway, if you can't deal with the manual installation you can as well assume that you are not prepared to manage the daily issues in Gentoo, so it's like an entry test.

http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/

When in doubt, go to the forums. They are excellent and have absolutely no match in the linux world, at least that I know of.

Gentoo Forums :: Index

There are also Lunar, SourceMage, Rock and many others. I highly doubt that any of these have reached a similar degree of development than this of Gentoo, but you can try and see yourself.

However don't expect it to be an easy ride. Gentoo is not only for geeks like some people say. But if you are not the kind of user who can read a manual and actually follow it, then it's not for you. It's not a click'n'play distro, that's for sure. But if you intend to dive on the source code of your tools that is not something that you should be scared of, I guess.

[smolloy]

If you don't like hunting for the source code for all your apps, you could try using a source based distro such as Gentoo, LFS, etc.

Otherwise, you should be able to find the source for all your apps in the repos.

[forever--faithless]

OK thankyou I think I will give Gentoo a try and see how it goes.