Distros, documentation, and support
Distro Walk – Documentation Support
© Photo by Roland Lösslein on Unsplash
Contrary to popular belief, free software does offer support. Depending on the distro, this support can be found in a wide range of documentation formats. Here's what to expect from a sampling of distros.
A common criticism of free software is that it comes with no support. That is not entirely true, since most projects maintain man pages and, in the case of the GNU Project, info pages. However, man and info pages are mostly for developers. To compensate for the lack of more general documentation, many projects, including distributions, have resorted to a wide variety of media for support, including blogs, online manuals, FAQs, how-tos, forums, and IRC channels.
These methods of documentation can be an important factor in selecting a distribution, especially for beginners. Although all sorts of documentation are available online, a distro's docs are a handy place to start. This allows users to avoid sorting through the glut of information on the Internet, much of which may be obsolete. Sometimes, other distros can also be a source of useful information, although much depends on how that information is maintained and organized.
Which distributions provide the most useful information? What follows is a sampling of distros' documentation (including Bodhi Linux and openSUSE, both of which you'll find on this month's DVD).
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.
-
Linux Kernel 6.14 Released
The latest Linux kernel has arrived with extra Rust support and more.
-
EndeavorOS Mercury Neo Available
A new release from the EndeavorOS team ships with Plasma 6.3 and other goodies.
-
Fedora 42 Beta Has Arrived
The Fedora Project has announced the availability of the first beta release for version 42 of the open-source distribution.
-
Dash to Panel Maintainer Quits
Charles Gagnon has stepped away as maintainer of the popular Dash to Panel Gnome extension.
-
CIQ Releases Security-Hardened Version of Rocky Linux
If you're looking for an enterprise-grade Linux distribution that is hardened for business use, there's a new version of Rocky Linux that's sure to make you and your company happy.
-
Gnome’s Dash to Panel Extension Gets a Massive Update
If you're a fan of the Gnome Dash to Panel extension, you'll be thrilled to hear that a new version has been released with a dock mode.
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.