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Zenwalk

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Zenwalk
Screenshot of Zenwalk Linux 6.0
Zenwalk 6.0
DeveloperJean-Philippe Guillemin
OS familyLinux(Unix-like)
Working stateCurrent
Source modelOpen source
Latest release15.0-221106[1]Edit this on Wikidata/ 6 November 2022;20 months ago(6 November 2022)
Update methodnetpkg (xnetpkg)
Package managernetpkg
KerneltypeMonolithic(Linux)
Default
user interface		Xfce
LicenseVarious
Official websitewww.zenwalk.org

Zenwalk GNU/Linux[2]is a desktop-focusedLinux distributionfounded by Jean-Philippe Guillemin. It is based onSlackwarewith very few modifications at system level making it 100% compatible with Slackware.[3]It aims to be a modern, multi-purpose Linux distribution by focusing on internet applications, multimedia and programming tools.[4]It comes with many specialized tools and is designed for beginners and advanced users alike, as it offers system configuration via both graphical tools and the command line.[a]

History[edit]

Zenwalk was originally calledMinislackup to version 1.1. It was renamed with version 1.2, released on 12 August 2005. Originally usingKDEas its desktop environment, it moved toXfcewith version 0.3, althoughGNOMEand KDE packages have always been available separately.

Aims[edit]

Zenpanel, a system configuration utility.

The Zenwalk Project aims to create alightweight Linux distribution,through using only one application per task on the releaseISO image;optimization for a specificinstruction set architecture,to increase execution speed; and introducing a comprehensive package management system with dependency resolution.[18]

Package management[edit]

Zenwalk's netpkg in its GUI guise, xnetpkg.

Zenwalk uses the netpkgpackage management system.Developed in-house, it provides the main functionality of theapt-getvariety of package managers. It uses Slackware's.tgz package format, but adds dependency resolution capabilities. It uses meta files to provide dependency information, as well as package description during the install process. This convenience is available only to the official Zenwalk mirrors listed in the netpkg configuration file,netpkg.conf.In addition to the originalnetpkgcommand line interface,xnetpkgprovides a GUI frontend with similar capabilities.[citation needed]

Zenwalk is also compatible with Slackware package management tools such asslapt-getand its frontends, and have similar functionality as that of netpkg.[citation needed]

As of Zenwalk 4.6, package compatibility with Slackware is still maintained. Slackware packages may be used in place of Zenwalk packages where necessary.[citation needed]

Zenwalk release history[19]
version date
Minislack 0.1 May 21, 2004
Minislack 0.2 August 8, 2004
Minislack 0.3 February 17, 2005
Minislack 0.4 March 26, 2005
Minislack 1.0 April 24, 2005
Minislack 1.0.1 May 3, 2005
Minislack 1.1 June 10, 2005
Zenwalk 1.2 August 12, 2005
Zenwalk 1.3 October 15, 2005
Zenwalk 2.0 Core November 27, 2005
Zenwalk 2.0.1 December 4, 2005
Zenwalk 2.1 (Core) January 18, 2006
Zenwalk 2.2[20] February 16, 2006
Zenwalk 2.4[21] April 4, 2006
Zenwalk 2.6[22] May 23, 2006
Zenwalk 2.8[23] July 21, 2006
Zenwalk 3.0[24] September 8, 2006
Zenwalk 4.0[25] November 20, 2006
Zenwalk 4.2[26] January 6, 2007
Zenwalk 4.4[27] February 22, 2007
Zenwalk 4.4.1[28] February 24, 2007
Zenwalk 4.6[29] June 1, 2007
Zenwalk 4.6.1[30] June 6, 2007
Zenwalk 4.8[31] October 6, 2007
Zenwalk 5.0[32] January 18, 2008
Zenwalk 5.2[33] June 7, 2008
Zenwalk 6.0[34] March 7, 2009
Zenwalk 6.2[35] September 6, 2009
Zenwalk 6.4[36] May 27, 2010
Zenwalk 7.0[37] Mar 25, 2011
Zenwalk 7.2[38] Oct 11, 2012
Zenwalk 7.4[39] April 2014
Zenwalk 8.0[40] July 2016
Zenwalk 15.0[41] 4 February 2022

Supported architectures[edit]

Starting with version 8.0, Zenwalk Linux is built and optimized primarily for thex86_64architecture; 32-biti486architecture is no longer supported.[citation needed]

Project versions[edit]

At one time there were five main versions of Zenwalk:

  • Zenwalk Standard,a distribution aimed at mainstream desktop and development use. Designed to be a stand-alone operating system, it installs to the hard drive by way of anncurses-based installer. It includes all of the officially released software packages that are deemed most useful by the Zenwalk community. The default install also includes development packages likegcc,and some proprietary media packages (such as Adobe Flash Player) and drivers in order to provide a full featured default install. The default desktop environment isXfce.[citation needed]
  • Zenwalk Core(discontinued), a Zenwalk system built for user customization. Released with no X Window System binaries, its aim was to allow a skilled user to build a system fit for their needs. The project's lead developer was Emmanuel Bailleul.[citation needed]
  • ZenLive(discontinued), a Zenwalk system built on aLive CDdesign. ZenLive followed the progress made by the full Zenwalk system closely, thus mirroring the version number, and attempted to stay true to the original distribution's goals. In addition, it included all of the necessary libraries and applications to develop and compile software, a particularly rare feature in Live CD distributions. The original ZenLive team left the project after version 6.0 was released but ZenwalkLive project was revived by an enthusiastic user and developed as a one-man-project. With version 6.4 the live-framework changed from deprecated linux-live-scripts to slackware-live-scripts.[citation needed]
  • Zenwalk Gnome(discontinued), withGNOMEas the default desktop environment.[citation needed]
  • Zenwalk Openbox(discontinued), supplied withOpenboxas stand-alone window manager. It was a very lightweight version of the operating system and did not useLXDEin its choice of software. It still uses Thunar File Manager over PCManFM which is standard on LXDE-based systems such as Lubuntu.[citation needed]

Derivatives[edit]

There are currently three known Zenwalk-based distributions:

  • Arudius, a now-discontinued live CD distribution for information assurance with tools for penetration testing and vulnerability analysis[42]
  • SLAMPP, intended to be used as a home server[43]
  • Zencafe, anIndonesiandistribution designed forinternet cafes[44]

Live USB[edit]

ALive USBof Zenwalk Linux for versions up to 5.2 can be created manually or withUNetbootin.[45]Current versions of Zenwalk can also booted from a USB usingVentoy,but only for installation, not a live session.[46]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

References[edit]

  1. ^"New Zenwalk Current ISO 2022 07 November is ready".Retrieved29 December2022.
  2. ^Guillemin, Jean-Philippe (4 February 2022)."Zenwalk GNU Linux".zenwalk.org.Archivedfrom the original on 28 March 2022.Retrieved28 March2022.
  3. ^JP Guillemin (10 February 2016)."Now Zenwalk 8.0 BETA 2".
  4. ^Claus Futtrup (19 September 2005)."An introduction to Zenwalk 1.2".
  5. ^MiniSlack is no mini Slack | Tux Machines
  6. ^MiniSlack: A noteworthy Linux distribution,OSNews
  7. ^Let's Take a Zenwalk | Tux Machines
  8. ^Review: Zenwalk Linux 2.0.1,OSNews
  9. ^Zen Yourself Free: a Windows Defector Discovers ZenWalk,OSNews
  10. ^DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 239, 11 February 2008
  11. ^"Zenwalk 6 Review | LinuxBSDos".Archived fromthe originalon 20 June 2018.Retrieved20 June2018.
  12. ^"Zenwalk 6.2 Review | LinuxBSDos".Archived fromthe originalon 20 June 2018.Retrieved20 June2018.
  13. ^Spotlight on Linux: Zenwalk Linux 6.4 "Live" | Linux Journal
  14. ^Zenwalk 7 review | LinuxBSDos
  15. ^DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 427, 17 October 2011
  16. ^DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 482, 12 November 2012
  17. ^DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 674, 15 August 2016
  18. ^Mayank Sharma (14 February 2008)."Tiny Zenwalk 5.0 packs a big punch".
  19. ^Zenwalk Releases Announcements on DistrowatchArchivedSeptember 28, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  20. ^Zenwalk 2.2 Release AnnouncementArchivedJune 24, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  21. ^Zenwalk 2.4 Release AnnouncementArchivedOctober 13, 2006, at theWayback Machine
  22. ^Zenwalk 2.6 Release AnnouncementArchivedJune 29, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  23. ^Zenwalk 2.8 Release AnnouncementArchivedOctober 13, 2006, at theWayback Machine
  24. ^Zenwalk 3.0 Release AnnouncementArchivedFebruary 23, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  25. ^Zenwalk 4.0 Release AnnouncementArchivedFebruary 19, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  26. ^Zenwalk 4.2 Release AnnouncementArchivedFebruary 19, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  27. ^Zenwalk 4.4 Release AnnouncementArchivedMarch 1, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  28. ^Zenwalk 4.4.1 Release AnnouncementArchivedAugust 4, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  29. ^Zenwalk 4.6 Release AnnouncementArchivedJune 4, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  30. ^Zenwalk 4.6.1 Release AnnouncementArchivedJuly 16, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  31. ^Zenwalk 4.8 Release AnnouncementArchivedOctober 11, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  32. ^Zenwalk 5.0 Release AnnouncementArchivedJanuary 20, 2008, at theWayback Machine
  33. ^Zenwalk 5.2 Release AnnouncementArchivedJune 8, 2008, at theWayback Machine
  34. ^Zenwalk 6.0 Release AnnouncementArchivedMarch 11, 2009, at theWayback Machine
  35. ^Zenwalk 6.2 Release AnnouncementArchivedDecember 3, 2009, at theWayback Machine
  36. ^Zenwalk 6.4 is ready!ArchivedOctober 23, 2013, at theWayback Machine
  37. ^Zenwalk 7.0 is available!ArchivedApril 22, 2011, at theWayback Machine
  38. ^Zenwalk 7.2 has been launchedArchivedOctober 17, 2012, at theWayback Machine
  39. ^"Zenwalk Forum".
  40. ^"Zenwalk Forum".
  41. ^"Zenwalk 15.0" Skywalker "milestone is ready".
  42. ^"Arudius – TDI".
  43. ^"SLAMPP Live CD/DVD » Home".
  44. ^"Zencafe Linux | Straight Forwards to the Future".Archived fromthe originalon 28 May 2014.Retrieved26 May2014.
  45. ^UNetbootin - Homepage and Downloads
  46. ^Sun, Hailong (28 March 2022)."Tested OS Series".ventoy.net.Archivedfrom the original on 28 March 2022.Retrieved28 March2022.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toZenwalk Linux.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zenwalk&oldid=1218644132"