Introduction

Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software, but includes some proprietary software packages. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen configuration.

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Note on Versions

Once Gentoo is installed, it becomes effectively "versionless"; that is, once an emerge update is done, the system is at the latest version, with the most up-to-date packages available (subject to restrictions that a user may have specified in their Portage configuration files). For example, if a system is installed using a stage3 from March 2011, and the user performs a full emerge update one month later, they will upgrade the installed Gentoo system to the same as they would have if they had performed a fresh installation from an April 2011 CD. Thus, Gentoo users may upgrade to the latest version of all of their installed software the day that new versions are released and have an ebuild available. Like other linux distributions, Gentoo systems have an /etc/gentoo-release file, but this contains the version of the installed sys-apps/baselayout package.

Early Version

Gentoo Linux was initially created by Daniel Robbins as the Enoch Linux distribution. The goal was to create a distribution without precompiled binaries that was tuned to the hardware and only included required programs. At least one version of Enoch was distributed: version 0.75, in December 1999. Compilation issues revealed problems with the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), used to build from source code.Daniel Robbins and the other contributors experimented with a fork of GCC known as EGCS developed by Cygnus Solutions. At this point, Enoch changed name to Gentoo Linux (the Gentoo species is the fastest swimming penguin). The modifications to EGCS eventually became part of the official GCC (version 2.95), and other Linux distributions experienced similar speed increases. After problems with a bug on his own system, Robbins halted Gentoo Linux development and switched to FreeBSD for several months, later saying "I decided to add several FreeBSD features to make our autobuild system (now called Portage) a true next-generation ports system.

Release-media version history

(Enoch Linux) 0.75, December 1999 1.0, March 31, 2002 1.1a, April 8, 2002 1.2, June 10, 2002 1.4 August 5, 2003 (Gentoo Reference Platform introduced) 1.4 maintenance release 1 September 11, 2003 2004.0 March 1, 2004(versioning changed to four releases a year) 2004.1 April 28, 2004 2004.2 July 26, 2004 2004.3 November 15, 2004 2005.0 March 27, 2005(versioning changed to semi-annual releases) 2005.1 August 8, 2005 2005.1-r1 November 21, 2005(maintenance release 1) 2006.0 February 27, 2006 2006.1 August 30, 2006 2007.0 May 7, 2007 2008.0 July 6, 2008

Version 1.0

Description: Gentoo is a source-based distro, which means that the user should compile everything from scratch in order to get a working installation. It requires a fast internet connection and lots of patience. Year developed: March 31, 2002 Developer/s: Daniel Robbins Reliability: Have some bugs. Packages in the main repository are not well tested, thus incompatibilities with application and window managers are prevalent. Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their main site and other mirror site. Small ISO download (16MB) User Friendliness: Gentoo linux was aimed for developers therefore it is not so user friendly to newbies. Speed: Gentoo certainly feels faster than the other distributions. User interface responsiveness are great. Cost: Free Security: Although Gentoo as a Linux distro is more secure than other OS like Windows, some bugs that are present in the release version caused some security concerns. These bugs were later addressed in the later version. Functionality: User Interface: Can install KDE, WindowMaker, XFCE, Oroborus, BlackBox and IceWM for its window manager Boot-up time 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds

Installlation Sequence: The Gentoo Installation can be seen as a 10-step procedure, corresponding to chapters 2 11. Every step results in a certain state:

After step 1, you are in a working environment ready to install Gentoo After step 2, your internet connection is ready to install Gentoo After step 3, your hard disks are initialized to house your Gentoo installation After step 4, your installation environment is prepared and you are ready to chroot into the new environment After step 5, core packages, which are the same on all Gentoo installations, are installed After step 6, you have compiled your Linux kernel After step 7, you have written most of your Gentoo system configuration files After step 8, necessary system tools (which you can choose from a nice list) are installed After step 9, your choice of bootloader has been installed and configured and you are logged in into your new Gentoo installation After step 10, your Gentoo Linux environment is ready to be explored

Application compatibility: Application database can be synchronized with the main application repository although some application packges have conflict with some window manager.

Version 1.1a

Description: Gentoo is a source-based distro, which means that the user should

compile everything from scratch in order to get a working installation. It requires a fast internet connection and lots of patience.
Year developed: April 8, 2002 Developer/s: Daniel Robbins Reliability: Improved packages in the main repository. Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their website and other mirror sites. Small

ISO download (16MB) or pre-compiled ISO download (135MB)

User Friendliness: Targeted at software developers and network administrators, which means that the new or even average Linux user may not be too interested in trying it out. Speed: Fast Cost: Free Security: More secure than Windows and Mac Functionality: User Interface: KDE, XFCE Boot-up time: 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds Installation Sequence: The same sequence with the previous version Application Compatibility: Can run applications suited for Linux

Version 1.2

Description: Gentoo is a source-based distro, which means that the user should

compile everything from scratch in order to get a working installation. It requires a fast internet connection and lots of patience.
Year developed: June 10, 2002 Developer/s: Daniel Robbins Reliability: Improved packages in the main repository. Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their website and other mirror sites. Small

ISO download (16MB) or pre-compiled ISO download (135MB)

User Friendliness: Targeted at power users. Newbie users might feel uncomfortable. Speed: Fast Cost: Free Security: More secure than Windows and Mac Functionality: User Interface: KDE, XFCE Boot-up time: 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds Installation Sequence: The same sequence with the previous version Application Compatibility: Can run applications suited for Linux

Version 1.4

Description: Gentoo is a source-based distro, which means that the user should

compile everything from scratch in order to get a working installation. It requires a fast internet connection and lots of patience.
Year developed: August 5, 2003 Developer/s: Daniel Robbins Reliability: Improved packages in the main repository. Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their website and other mirror sites. Small

ISO download. LiveCD Technology introduced.

User Friendliness: Targeted at power users. Newbie users might feel uncomfortable. Speed: Fast Cost: Free Security: More secure than Windows and Mac Functionality: User Interface: KDE, XFCE, GNOME Boot-up time: 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds Installation Sequence: The same sequence with the previous version Application Compatibility: Can run applications suited for Linux. Offer a full binary Gentoo Linux "reference platform" that installs in minutes.

Version 2004.0

Description: Gentoo is a source-based distro, which means that the user should

compile everything from scratch in order to get a working installation. It requires a fast internet connection and lots of patience.
Year developed: March 1, 2004 Developer/s: Daniel Robbins Reliability: Improved packages in the main repository. Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their website and other mirror sites. Small

ISO download. LiveCD Technology.

User Friendliness: Targeted at power users. Newbie users might feel uncomfortable. Speed: Fast Cost: Free Security: More secure than Windows and Mac Functionality: User Interface: KDE, XFCE, GNOME Boot-up time: 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds Installation Sequence: The same sequence with the previous version Application Compatibility: Can run applications suited for Linux. Offer a full binary Gentoo Linux "reference platform" that installs in minutes.

Version 2004.1

Description: Gentoo is a source-based distro, which means that the user should

compile everything from scratch in order to get a working installation. It requires a fast internet connection and lots of patience.
Year developed: April 28, 2004 Developer/s: Daniel Robbins Reliability: Improved packages in the main repository. Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their website and other mirror sites. Small

ISO download. LiveCD Technology.

User Friendliness: Targeted at power users. Newbie users might feel uncomfortable. Speed: Fast Cost: Free Security: More secure than Windows and Mac. Improved security in Gentoo distro. Functionality: User Interface: KDE, XFCE, GNOME, GLIBC, GCC Boot-up time: 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds Installation Sequence: The same sequence with the previous version Application Compatibility: Can run applications suited for Linux. Offer a full binary Gentoo Linux "reference platform" that installs in minutes.

Version 2004.2

Description: Gentoo is a source-based distro, which means that the user should compile

everything from scratch in order to get a working installation. It requires a fast internet connection and lots of patience.
Year developed: July 26, 2004 Developer/s: Daniel Robbins Reliability: -LiveCD compatibility with Dell server-class machines -LiveCD compatibility with SMP machines -x86 laptop PCMCIA support -Wireless (802.11a/b/g) capabilities -SATA support Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their website and other mirror sites. Small ISO download.

LiveCD Technology.
User Friendliness: Targeted at power users. Newbie users might feel uncomfortable. Speed: Fast Cost: Free Security: More secure than Windows and Mac. Improved security in Gentoo distro. Functionality: User Interface: KDE, XFCE, GNOME, GLIBC, GCC Boot-up time: 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds Installation Sequence: The same sequence with the previous version Application Compatibility: Can run applications suited for Linux. Offer a full binary Gentoo Linux "reference platform" that installs in minutes.

Version 2004.3

Description: Gentoo is a source-based distro, which means that the user should compile

everything from scratch in order to get a working installation. It requires a fast internet connection and lots of patience.
Year developed: November 15, 2004 Developer/s: Daniel Robbins Reliability: -LiveCD compatibility with Dell server-class machines -LiveCD compatibility with SMP machines -x86 laptop PCMCIA support -Wireless (802.11a/b/g) capabilities -SATA support Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their website and other mirror sites. Small ISO download.

LiveCD Technology.
User Friendliness: Targeted at power users. Newbie users might feel uncomfortable. Speed: Fast Cost: Free Security: More secure than Windows and Mac. Improved security in Gentoo distro. Functionality: User Interface: KDE, XFCE, GNOME, GLIBC, GCC Boot-up time: 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds Installation Sequence: The same sequence with the previous version Application Compatibility: Can run applications suited for Linux. New installation media from Alpha, AMD64, PPC, PPC64, SPARC, and x86 and includes stages for IA64 and SPARC32.

Version 2005.0

Description: Gentoo is a source-based distro, which means that the user should

compile everything from scratch in order to get a working installation. It requires a fast internet connection and lots of patience.
Year developed: November 15, 2004 Developer/s: Daniel Robbins Reliability: Very reliable. Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their website and other mirror sites. Small

ISO download. LiveCD Technology support

User Friendliness: Targeted at power users. Newbie users might feel uncomfortable. Speed: Fast Cost: Free Security: More secure than Windows and Mac. Improved security in Gentoo distro. Functionality: User Interface: KDE, XFCE, GNOME, GLIBC, GCC Boot-up time: 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds Installation Sequence: The same sequence with the previous version Application Compatibility: Can run applications suited for Linux.

Version 2005.1

Description: Gentoo is a source-based distro, which means that the user should

compile everything from scratch in order to get a working installation. It requires a fast internet connection and lots of patience.
Year developed: August 8, 2005 Developer/s: Daniel Robbins Reliability: Very reliable. Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their website and other mirror sites. Small

ISO download. LiveCD Technology support.

User Friendliness: Targeted at power users. Newbie users might feel uncomfortable. Speed: Fast Cost: Free Security: More secure than Windows and Mac. Improved security in Gentoo distro. Functionality: User Interface: KDE, XFCE, GNOME, GLIBC, GCC Boot-up time: 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds Installation Sequence: The same sequence with the previous version Application Compatibility: Can run applications suited for Linux.

Version 2005.1-r1

Description: Gentoo is a source-based distro, which means that the user should

compile everything from scratch in order to get a working installation. It requires a fast internet connection and lots of patience. The 2005.1-r1 release is simply a
media refresh over the 2005.1 Year developed: November 21, 2005 Developer/s: Daniel Robbins Reliability: Very reliable. Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their website and other mirror sites. Small

ISO download. LiveCD Technology support.

User Friendliness: Targeted at power users. Newbie users might feel uncomfortable. Speed: Fast Cost: Free Security: More secure than Windows and Mac. Improved security in Gentoo distro. Functionality: User Interface: KDE, XFCE, GNOME, GLIBC, GCC Boot-up time: 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds Installation Sequence: The same sequence with the previous version Application Compatibility: Can run applications suited for Linux.

Version 2006.0

Description: Gentoo Linux 2006.0, the first release in the 2006 series, represents improvements across many architectures since the 2005.1 release. Year developed: February 27, 2006 Developer/s: Daniel Robbins Reliability: The Hardened team is pleased to release both 2.4 and 2.6 kernel targeted stages for the x86 platform. The previously experimental non-multilib AMD64 stages are now part of the 2006.0 release, while Hardened Gentoo with multilib on AMD64 has become possible and the team is releasing experimental stages. Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their website and other mirror sites. Small

ISO download. LiveCD Technology support.

User Friendliness: Targeted at power users. Newbie users might feel uncomfortable. Speed: Fast Cost: Free Security: More secure than Windows and Mac. Improved security in Gentoo distro. Functionality: User Interface: KDE, XFCE, GNOME, GLIBC, GCC Boot-up time: 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds Installation Sequence: The same sequence with the previous version Application Compatibility: Can run applications suited for Linux.

Version 2006.1

Description: The second release of the year. Building on the strengths of previous releases and featuring all of Gentoo's well-documented flexibility, performance and portability, this release is now available on all supported architectures. Year Developed: August 30, 2006 Reliability: Some bugs were present but stil very reliable distro. Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their website and other mirror sites. Small ISO download. LiveCD Technology support. The LiveCD also features a fullyfledged Gnome environmentThe most popular architectures now use GCC 4.1, glibc 2.4 and baselayout 1.12.1, as well as including a new profile layout, with separate desktop and server profiles. User Friendliness: Targeted at power users. Newbie users might feel uncomfortable. Speed: Fast Cost: Free Security: More secure than Windows and Mac. Improved security in Gentoo distro. Functionality: User Interface: KDE, XFCE, GNOME, GLIBC, GCC Boot-up time: 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds Installation Sequence: The same sequence with the previous version Application Compatibility: Can run applications suited for Linux.

Version 2007.0

Description: The Gentoo Release Engineering project is pleased to announce the much-delayed release of Gentoo Linux 2007.0, code named "Secret Sauce". This release includes a completely rewritten version of the Gentoo Linux Installer on the AMD64 and x86 LiveCD and LiveDVD images. It also includes GNOME 2.16.2, KDE 3.5.5, Xfce 4.4, Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3, OpenOffice.org 2.1.0, and the 2.6.19 Linux kernel. Year Developed: May 7, 2007 Reliability: Some bugs were present but stil very reliable distro. Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their website and other mirror sites. Small ISO download. LiveCD Technology support. The LiveCD also features a fullyfledged Gnome environment. Later releases will include KDE support as well as a new LiveDVD. User Friendliness: Targeted at power users. Newbie users might feel uncomfortable. Speed: Fast Cost: Free Security: More secure than Windows and Mac. Improved security in Gentoo distro. Functionality: User Interface: KDE, XFCE, GNOME, GLIBC, GCC Boot-up time: 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds Installation Sequence: The same sequence with the previous version Application Compatibility: Can run applications suited for Linux.

Version 2008.0

Description: The 2008.0 final release is out! Code-named "It's got what plants crave," this release contains numerous new features including an updated installer, improved hardware support, a complete rework of profiles, and a move to Xfce instead of GNOME on the LiveCD. LiveDVDs are not available for x86 or amd64, although they may become available in the future. The 2008.0 release also includes updated versions of many packages already available in your ebuild tree. Year Developed: July 6, 2008 Reliability: Some bugs were present but stil very reliable distro. Accessibility: Can be downloaded from their website and other mirror sites. Small ISO download. LiveCD Technology support. The LiveCD also features a fully-fledged Gnome environment. Later releases will include KDE support as well as a new LiveDVD. User Friendliness: Targeted at power users. Newbie users might feel uncomfortable. Speed: Fast Cost: Free Security: More secure than Windows and Mac. Improved security in Gentoo distro. Functionality: User Interface: KDE, XFCE, GNOME, GLIBC, GCC Boot-up time: 30 seconds, can be customized to boot in less than 10 seconds Installation Sequence: The same sequence with the previous version Application Compatibility: Can run applications suited for Linux. Updated installer: The installer now only performs networkless installations using the packages and ebuild tree on the LiveCD. It also contains numerous fixes for extended and logical partitions. Improved hardware support: Moving to the 2.6.24 kernel added many new drivers for hardware released since the 2007.0 release. Complete rework of profiles: Restructuring profiles allowed significant cleanup of redundancies, reducing developer maintenance and confusion. The difference for you is that profiles now appear in /usr/portage/profiles/ under default/linux/ instead of default-linux/. See the upgrading guide for more details. Xfce instead of GNOME on the LiveCD: To save space, the LiveCDs switched to the smaller Xfce environment. This means that a binary installation using the LiveCD will install Xfce, but you're still free to build GNOME or KDE from source. No LiveDVDs on x86 or amd64: In the interest of getting the release out, the release engineering team decided to postpone LiveDVDs because of problems in their generation. They may show up laterif so, we'll let you know. Updated packages: Highlights of the 2008.0 release include Portage 2.1.4.4, a 2.6.24 kernel, Xfce 4.4.2, gcc 4.1.2 and glibc 2.6.1.