Journey to Create a Linux Distro

[Luxury]

Hello everyone! It's honestly the first time i've ever taken it on myself to write a post on any of these forums ever since i joined the IT world. I'm soon to be 18 and being freed from high school allows me to try all the exciting knowledge journeys i've always wanted to go on.
In my 3 high-school-equivalent years, i took a software development course, as i've been fascinated by the IT world ever since my first contact in 4th grade. One of my long dreams is to make my own machine, ground up. Of course; that's very ambitious and will most likely take my whole life to achieve and i'm well aware of that, but we gotta dream big and start somewhere right?
I'm gonna be honest, I know what Linux is, i know what it entails and the various distributions it contains; I'm aiming for cybersecurity for my college years and I know Linux is a must. However, I'm completly ignorant to however it actually works and all it's commands and processes, not to mention how you actually change it to your liking.

With this, i think you get where I'm going (and also with the title). As someone who aims to understand Linux and make their own distribution but has no knowledge on how things flow around here, where should I start? What version would be the best to begin getting familiar with the Linux environment? What tips do you have? Is there anything i should learn prior to learning how to make a distro, and how do I even learn that/what is needed for that? I'll be awaiting and happily thank any support and feedback!
Thank you for your time!

 

[truckerDave]

Words of encouragement are all I can offer. It's refreshing to see someone of your age that actually wants to accomplish something. All I can say is ... Hold on tight. It's going to be a bumpy ride. And don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it.

We need more young folks like yourself.

 

[KGIII]

where should I start?

I'd start by installing a distro and learning about Linux in-depth.

Then, I'd look at "Linux From Scratch". It's not an easy thing to do, but you'll learn a great deal.

 

[Alexzee]

Hello everyone! It's honestly the first time i've ever taken it on myself to write a post on any of these forums ever since i joined the IT world. I'm soon to be 18 and being freed from high school allows me to try all the exciting knowledge journeys i've always wanted to go on.
In my 3 high-school-equivalent years, i took a software development course, as i've been fascinated by the IT world ever since my first contact in 4th grade. One of my long dreams is to make my own machine, ground up. Of course; that's very ambitious and will most likely take my whole life to achieve and i'm well aware of that, but we gotta dream big and start somewhere right?
I'm gonna be honest, I know what Linux is, i know what it entails and the various distributions it contains; I'm aiming for cybersecurity for my college years and I know Linux is a must. However, I'm completly ignorant to however it actually works and all it's commands and processes, not to mention how you actually change it to your liking.

With this, i think you get where I'm going (and also with the title). As someone who aims to understand Linux and make their own distribution but has no knowledge on how things flow around here, where should I start? What version would be the best to begin getting familiar with the Linux environment? What tips do you have? Is there anything i should learn prior to learning how to make a distro, and how do I even learn that/what is needed for that? I'll be awaiting and happily thank any support and feedback!
Thank you for your time!

Hi! & Welcome to Linux.org

Obtaining knowledge is the first thing, Luxury that you'll need. Once you have that, as time progresses wisdom will set in. As you use Linux and try things to find out how they work knowledge and wisdom will work together with the understanding that you get.

Starting with Linux Mint (based on Debian) is a good place to start.
Reading the Debian Administrators Handbook will teach you how to run and maintain a Debian Linux system.

About this project

Written by two Debian developers — Raphaël Hertzog and Roland Mas — the Debian Administrator's Handbook started as a translation of their French best-seller known as Cahier de l'admin Debian (published by Eyrolles). It's a fantastic resource for all users of a Debian-based distribution...

debian-handbook.info

Get very good with a package management system and how it run's and works.

--:--In order to make/design a distribution you'll need to learn a handful of things.--:--

Building and compiling a kernel and adding all of the modules during the build will be needed. It is a key skill you will need in your wheelhouse.

Learning how to build and compile from source on Linux is yet another skill you will need.
There are command-line tools (dpkg for example) that you will have to use to install, remove, configure and retrieve information. You'll have to learn how to use the make command (among other command-line utilities) and have build essentials and other important programs installed before you begin your build.
You'll have to learn how to solve and fix things when the build or make process fails and return an error.

Learn what runtime libraires (front and back-end lib's), packages and there dependencies are required to run a Linux system. And learn the order in which each dependency has to be installed.

You'll need to learn how the kernel boots and how that process works. How the kernel sees and recognizes hardware on the mobo...during the boot process and the list goes on. Sound and other things that make a Linux distro tick are in the kernel.

And the last most important thing I can think of at the moment that I have learned running Linux for 13 years is:

alex@debian-box :$ do one thing at a time with certainty!

Best wishes for a bright future:-
Alex

 

[Alexzee]

Words of encouragement are all I can offer. It's refreshing to see someone of your age that actually wants to accomplish something. All I can say is ... Hold on tight. It's going to be a bumpy ride. And don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it.

We need more young folks like yourself.

Refreshing indeed brother, I agree!
I look forward to building a Linux distro too. it's part of my summer project.

 

[Luxury]

Words of encouragement are all I can offer. It's refreshing to see someone of your age that actually wants to accomplish something. All I can say is ... Hold on tight. It's going to be a bumpy ride. And don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it.

We need more young folks like yourself.

Thank you for the kind words!!! I really appreciate it, waking up to this was really nice. It just really fascinates me how technology advances through time and how we got here from seemingly nothing. I would like to dedicate my life to being the cool grandpa who knows everything the world has to offer hahahahahah

 

[Luxury]

I'd start by installing a distro and learning about Linux in-depth.

Then, I'd look at "Linux From Scratch". It's not an easy thing to do, but you'll learn a great deal.

I see, i'll be looking it up then! Thank you

 

[Luxury]

Hi! & Welcome to Linux.org

Obtaining knowledge is the first thing, Luxury that you'll need. Once you have that, as time progresses wisdom will set in. As you use Linux and try things to find out how they work knowledge and wisdom will work together with the understanding that you get.

Starting with Linux Mint (based on Debian) is a good place to start.
Reading the Debian Administrators Handbook will teach you how to run and maintain a Debian Linux system.

About this project

Written by two Debian developers — Raphaël Hertzog and Roland Mas — the Debian Administrator's Handbook started as a translation of their French best-seller known as Cahier de l'admin Debian (published by Eyrolles). It's a fantastic resource for all users of a Debian-based distribution...

debian-handbook.info

Get very good with a package management system and how it run's and works.

--:--In order to make/design a distribution you'll need to learn a handful of things.--:--

Building and compiling a kernel and adding all of the modules during the build will be needed. It is a key skill you will need in your wheelhouse.

Learning how to build and compile from source on Linux is yet another skill you will need.
There are command-line tools (dpkg for example) that you will have to use to install, remove, configure and retrieve information. You'll have to learn how to use the make command (among other command-line utilities) and have build essentials and other important programs installed before you begin your build.
You'll have to learn how to solve and fix things when the build or make process fails and return an error.

Learn what runtime libraires (front and back-end lib's), packages and there dependencies are required to run a Linux system. And learn the order in which each dependency has to be installed.

You'll need to learn how the kernel boots and how that process works. How the kernel sees and recognizes hardware on the mobo...during the boot process and the list goes on. Sound and other things that make a Linux distro tick are in the kernel.

And the last most important thing I can think of at the moment that I have learned running Linux for 13 years is:

alex@debian-box :$ do one thing at a time with certainty!

Best wishes for a bright future:-
Alex

Thank you for the warm welcome and help! This is a lot of info and it definetly sounds like it will take a while, but the suggestions are really appreciated! Thank you

 

[Alexzee]

Thank you for the warm welcome and help! This is a lot of info and it definetly sounds like it will take a while, but the suggestions are really appreciated! Thank you

You're welcome.
Yes, it will take a while.

It took me about 3-5 years to get well versed with running Debian and knowing it's package management system. Then, 5 years to get really good at running Slackware.

Once you Slack you'll never go back.

 

[GatorsFan]

Have a look at this Youtube -

 

[Vimmer]

One of my long dreams is to make my own machine, ground up.

That will certainly not take your whole life to achieve: there's already so many websites that sell computer parts and it's not very hard at all.

Now, if you also wanted to solder all the parts and program the distro, that's probably something you will not succeed in doing unless it's a very simple machine.

 

[Luxury]

Have a look at this Youtube -

Thank you!!

 

[Luxury]

That will certainly not take your whole life to achieve: there's already so many websites that sell computer parts and it's not very hard at all.

Now, if you also wanted to solder all the parts and program the distro, that's probably something you will not succeed in doing unless it's a very simple machine.

Yes. The hardware is the easy part, although i'd like to atleast make my own case. However, what i meant is using "my own" software (in this case, my own distro)

 

[GatorsFan]

Another process is called Remastering which is not done too much any more except by us old die-hards - one tool is Penguins-Eggs - https://penguins-eggs.net/

MX-Linux has a remastering tool as well - under MX Tools - https://mxlinux.org/current-release-features/

There use to be Cubic (Custom Ubuntu ISO Creator) which I have not used that since about 2019 - https://code.launchpad.net/cubic

 

[Alexzee]

Amazing what you learn when helping others in the Linux Community!

Soldier on Luxury:-

 

[Luxury]

Another process is called Remastering which is not done too much any more except by us old die-hards - one tool is Penguins-Eggs - https://penguins-eggs.net/

MX-Linux has a remastering tool as well - under MX Tools - https://mxlinux.org/current-release-features/

There use to be Cubic (Custom Ubuntu ISO Creator) which I have not used that since about 2019 - https://code.launchpad.net/cubic

Wow, sounds interesting! Definetly something i'll look into, i guess this is literally just remastering existing ones? Thank you a lot for the tools provided!

 

[Luxury]

Amazing what you learn when helping others in the Linux Community!

Soldier on Luxury:-

Thank you for the encouragement hahaha, but it's real! When people join together, it's almost like a butterfly effect

 

[Alexzee]

Thank you for the encouragement hahaha, but it's real! When people join together, it's almost like a butterfly effect

You're welcome.
I've seen that when dedicated people guide, help, assist, and teach those who don't have what they need they excel and have success.

It's happened for me and I'm certain it will happen for you.

My Linux Master is now in his 70's and everything that he taught me, I am now teaching others.
And, what's really cool is the more complicated techniques and practices are making more sense and becoming productive.

I think you'll find that the men here at Linux.org are dedicated, care and apply themselves well professionally.

Enjoy the weekend!