主流发行版之前的那些最早的 Linux 发行版
发行版

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> 在这篇回溯历史的文章中，我们尝试回顾一些最早的 Linux 发行版是如何演变的，并形成我们今天所知道的发行版的。
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![](/data/attachment/album/201910/04/100019oc79ftxhuw91x7rc.png)


在这里，我们尝试探讨了第一个 Linux 内核问世后，诸如 Red Hat、Debian、Slackware、SUSE、Ubuntu 等诸多流行的发行版的想法是如何产生的。


随着 1991 年 Linux 最初以内核的形式发布，今天我们所知道的发行版在世界各地众多合作者的帮助下得以创建 shell、库、编译器和相关软件包，从而使其成为一个完整的操作系统。


### 1、第一个已知的“发行版”是由 HJ Lu 创建的


Linux 发行版这种方式可以追溯到 1992 年，当时可以用来访问 Linux 的第一个已知的类似发行版的工具是由 HJ Lu 发布的。它由两个 5.25 英寸软盘组成：


![Linux 0.12 Boot and Root Disks | Photo Credit](/data/attachment/album/201910/04/100021xb3xz61oozxbcbqq.jpg)


* LINUX 0.12 BOOT DISK：“启动”磁盘用来先启动系统。
* LINUX 0.12 ROOT DISK：第二个“根”磁盘，用于在启动后获取命令提示符以访问 Linux 文件系统。


要在硬盘上安装 LINUX 0.12，必须使用十六进制编辑器来编辑其主启动记录（MBR），这是一个非常复杂的过程，尤其是在那个时代。



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> 感觉太怀旧了？
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> 你可以[安装 cool-retro-term 应用程序](https://itsfoss.com/cool-retro-term/)，它可以为你提供 90 年代计算机的复古外观的 Linux 终端。
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### 2、MCC Interim Linux


![MCC Linux 0.99.14, 1993 | Image Credit](/data/attachment/album/201910/04/100028sbt9ujbjx29xuxpg.jpg)


MCC Interim Linux 最初由英格兰曼彻斯特计算中心的 Owen Le Blanc 与 “LINUX 0.12” 同年发布，它是针对普通用户的第一个 Linux 发行版，它具有菜单驱动的安装程序和最终用户/编程工具。它也是以软盘集的形式，可以将其安装在系统上以提供基于文本的基本环境。


MCC Interim Linux 比 0.12 更加易于使用，并且在硬盘驱动器上的安装过程更加轻松和类似于现代方式。它不需要使用十六进制编辑器来编辑 MBR。


尽管它于 1992 年 2 月首次发布，但自当年 11 月以来也可以通过 FTP 下载。


### 3、TAMU Linux


![TAMU Linux | Image Credit](/data/attachment/album/201910/04/100029kz397iwlonxoyxr9.jpg)


TAMU Linux 由 Texas A＆M 的 Aggies 与 Texas A＆M Unix ＆ Linux 用户组于 1992 年 5 月开发，被称为 TAMU 1.0A。它是第一个提供 X Window System 的 Linux 发行版，而不仅仅是基于文本的操作系统。


### 4、Softlanding Linux System (SLS)


![SLS Linux 1.05, 1994 | Image Credit](/data/attachment/album/201910/04/100031cromfglvzipyyrqg.jpg)


他们的口号是“DOS 伞降的温柔救援”！SLS 由 Peter McDonald 于 1992 年 5 月发布。SLS 在其时代得到了广泛的使用和流行，并极大地推广了 Linux 的思想。但是由于开发人员决定更改发行版中的可执行格式，因此用户停止使用它。


当今社区最熟悉的许多流行发行版是通过 SLS 演变而成的。其中两个是：


* Slackware：它是最早的 Linux 发行版之一，由 Patrick Volkerding 于 1993 年创建。Slackware 基于 SLS，是最早的 Linux 发行版之一。
* Debian：由 Ian Murdock 发起，Debian 在从 SLS 模型继续发展之后于 1993 年发布。我们今天知道的非常流行的 Ubuntu 发行版基于 Debian。


### 5、Yggdrasil


![LGX Yggdrasil Fall 1993 | Image Credit](/data/attachment/album/201910/04/100034o21yhz60az10dg88.jpg)


Yggdrasil 于 1992 年 12 月发行，是第一个产生 Live Linux CD 想法的发行版。它是由 Yggdrasil 计算公司开发的，该公司由位于加利福尼亚州伯克利的 Adam J. Richter 创立。它可以在系统硬件上自动配置自身，即“即插即用”功能，这是当今非常普遍且众所周知的功能。Yggdrasil 后来的版本包括一个用于在 Linux 中运行任何专有 MS-DOS CD-ROM 驱动程序的黑科技。


![Yggdrasil’s Plug-and-Play Promo | Image Credit](/data/attachment/album/201910/04/100035rf14o70x5jt9l590.jpg)


他们的座右铭是“<ruby> 我们其余人的自由软件 <rp>  （ </rp> <rt>  Free Software For The Rest of Us </rt> <rp>  ） </rp></ruby>”。


### 6、Mandriva


在 90 年代后期，有一个非常受欢迎的发行版 [Mandriva](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandriva_Linux)，该发行版于 1998 年首次发行，是通过将法国的 Mandrake Linux 发行版与巴西的 Conectiva Linux 发行版统一起来形成的。它的发布寿命为 18 个月，会对 Linux 和系统软件进行更新，并且每年都会发布基于桌面的更新。它还有带有 5 年支持的服务器版本。现在是 [Open Mandriva](https://www.openmandriva.org/)。


如果你在 Linux 发行之初就用过更多的怀旧发行版，请在下面的评论中与我们分享。




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via: <https://itsfoss.com/earliest-linux-distros/>


作者：[Avimanyu Bandyopadhyay](https://itsfoss.com/author/avimanyu/) 选题：[lujun9972](https://github.com/lujun9972) 译者：[wxy](https://github.com/wxy) 校对：[wxy](https://github.com/wxy)


本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创编译，[Linux中国](https://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出


OK
In this throwback history article, we’ve tried to look back into how some of the earliest Linux distributions evolved and came into being as we know them today.

![The Earliest Linux distributions](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2019/02/earliest-linux-distros-800x450.png)

In here we have tried to explore how the idea of popular distros such as Red Hat, Debian, Slackware, SUSE, Ubuntu and many others came into being after the first Linux kernel became available.

As Linux was initially released in the form of a kernel in 1991, the distros we know today was made possible with the help of numerous collaborators throughout the world with the creation of shells, libraries, compilers and related packages to make it a complete Operating System.

## 1. The first known “distro” by HJ Lu

The way we know Linux distributions today goes back to 1992, when the first known distro-like tools to get access to Linux were released by HJ Lu. It consisted of two 5.25” floppy diskettes:

![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2019/01/Linux-0.12-Floppies.jpg)

[Photo Credit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Linux_0_12.jpg)

**LINUX 0.12 BOOT DISK**: The “boot” disk was used to boot the system first.**LINUX 0.12 ROOT DISK**: The second “root” disk for getting a command prompt for access to the Linux file system after booting.

To install 0.12 on a hard drive, one had to use a hex editor to edit its master boot record (MBR) and that was quite a complex process, especially during that era.

Feeling too nostalgic?

You can [install cool-retro-term application](https://itsfoss.com/cool-retro-term/) that gives you a Linux terminal in the vintage looks of the 90’s computers.

## 2. MCC Interim Linux

![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2019/01/MCC-Interim-Linux-0.99.14-1993.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1)

[Image Credit](https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/comments/9wv8c3/)

Initially released in the same year as “LINUX 0.12” by Owen Le Blanc of Manchester Computing Centre in England, MCC Interim Linux was the first Linux distribution for novice users with a menu driven installer and end user/programming tools. Also in the form of a collection of diskettes, it could be installed on a system to provide a basic text-based environment.

MCC Interim Linux was much more user-friendly than 0.12 and the installation process on a hard drive was much easier and similar to modern ways. It did not require using a hex editor to edit the MBR.

Though it was first released in February 1992, it was also available for download through FTP since November that year.

## 3. TAMU Linux

![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2019/01/TAMU-Linux.jpg)

[Image Credit](https://archiveos.org/tamu/)

TAMU Linux was developed by Aggies at Texas A&M with the Texas A&M Unix & Linux Users Group in May 1992 and was called TAMU 1.0A. It was the first Linux distribution to offer the X Window System instead of just a text based operating system.

## 4. Softlanding Linux System (SLS)

![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2019/01/SLS-1.05-1994.jpg)

[Image Credit](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sls-linux_1.05.png)

“Gentle Touchdowns for DOS Bailouts” was their slogan! SLS was released by Peter McDonald in May 1992. SLS was quite widely used and popular during its time and greatly promoted the idea of Linux. But due to a decision by the developers to change the executable format in the distro, users stopped using it.

Many of the popular distros the present community is most familiar with, evolved via SLS. Two of them are:

**Slackware**: One of the earliest Linux distros, Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding in 1993. Slackware is based on SLS and was one of the very first Linux distributions.**Debian**: An initiative by Ian Murdock, Debian was also released in 1993 after moving on from the SLS model. The very popular Ubuntu distro we know today is based on Debian.

## 5. Yggdrasil

![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2019/01/LGX_Yggdrasil_CD_Fall_1993.jpg?fit=781%2C800&ssl=1)

[Image Credit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lgx_yggdrasil_fall_1993.jpg)

Released on December 1992, Yggdrasil was the first distro to give birth to the idea of Live Linux CDs. It was developed by Yggdrasil Computing, Inc., founded by Adam J. Richter in Berkeley, California. It could automatically configure itself on system hardware as “Plug-and-Play”, which is a very regular and known feature in today’s time. The later versions of Yggdrasil included a hack for running any proprietary MS-DOS CD-ROM driver within Linux.

![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2019/01/Yggdrasil-Linux-Summer-1994.jpg)

[Image Credit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yggdrasil-linux-summer-94.JPG)

Their motto was “Free Software For The Rest of Us”.

In the late 90s, one very popular distro was [Mandriva](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandriva_Linux), first released in 1998, by unifying the French *Mandrake Linux* distribution with the Brazilian *Conectiva Linux* distribution. It had a release lifetime of 18 months for updates related to Linux and system software and desktop based updates were released every year. It also had server versions with 5 years of support. Now we have [Open Mandriva](https://www.openmandriva.org/).

If you have more nostalgic distros to share from the earliest days of Linux release, please share with us in the comments below.