How To Roll Your Own Linux Distro
DIY: Do It Yourself. That's how Linux got started. A group of volunteers, inspired and led by Linus Torvalds, created the greatest DIY operating system the world has ever seen. You, too, can create your own Linux distribution. Here's how.
It sounds daunting, and there's a lot that's definitely not for beginners. But in terms of what you can learn along the way and what you end up with, it's on a par with building your own PC from scratch. Granted, as with building a PC from scratch, there are still plenty of reasons to buy something off the shelf -- or to grab an existing distribution and simply use that. That said, there are a few solid rationales for rolling your own distro:
For education. Sometimes the best way to get to know something is just to stick your hands under the hood and get 'em dirty -- with a little guidance, of course. There's no guarantee that you'll get to know everything, but you will gain a fearlessness about the process of learning and a sense of where to go to get answers about something (and how to get those answers) that you may not get by simply installing a populist's distribution and getting quotidian work done.
