dependencies and packages

[blister]

Hi,

I'm trying to understand what dependencies and packages are before I jump feet first into Linux. They apparently give a lot of trouble.

As I understand it, I won't be able to simply install a distro of my choice as an operating system on its own and, then, individually install the programs I want to use. It seems that if I installed, say, a wordprocessor or a spreadsheet, they would come with a lot of other stuff tangled up with them.

Am I right in this? Or are dependencies and packages part of the Linux operating system itself?

Any explanation would be appreciated.

[OmarSerenity]

Look at it this way:
The kernel is the OS. If you look at it alone compared to Windows, it is much, much smaller. Windows includes the base dependencies in the actual OS, whereas Linux does not. You will have to install dependencies when you install a program, some have more dependencies than others. Now, a distro will have a base system installed after installation along with the kernel, which includes many basic dependencies along with scripts to initalize the GUI, the services to run, detection and setup of hardware, etc. Many distros now offer special programs/scripts that make installing a package along with its dependencies a whole lot easier now than what you may have heard before. Mandrake has urpmi, Debian has apt-get, Gentoo has emerge, Fedora has yum, etc.

I hope this kinda answers your question.

[blister]

Hi OmarSerenity,

That's a considered reply. Thanks for your effort.

I think I've got it now. Linux users depend on dependencies to configure their computers with their distro and with their programs and what they want to do with them.

I suppose that with everyone having different computer components, of different types and ages, and wanting different applications, no OS could operate on its own.

Interesting! I think I'm going to enjoy tinkering with Linux.....