OS only distribution? NO other APP's

Hello to all! I have been looking for a while for a OS only distribution. I have searched through the threads here and elsewhere, but have seen no mention of one, unless I missed it. Some of the distributions are nice, with really nice additional packages, like openoffice, installed with the OS. What I really want to find is a distro with no other apps included. A couple of reasons: I want to choose what I want without having to remove a bunch stuff that I don't. and I am trying to get a better handle on how linux, in a nutshell, works. I know each distro is different and I am not looking to create a new one; I just want to be able to write a bit of code without all the other add-on's in the way to confuse my attemps. Hope that makes sense! :) Just an OS that will boot up into a windowing environment with no games, etc.....

Holy cow, thanks for the link. That'll keep me busy for a while. Maybe someone will chime in with a couple specific distros. Thanks again!

You can try Mandriva with their "mini" version, when you go to mandriva's download sites you will see the free, the one and the mini versions, Mandriva mini will give you what you want, just the graphical environment,a browser and a terminal. From there you can add whatever you want. www.mandriva.com

"I have been looking for a while for a OS only distribution." "I am trying to get a better handle on how linux, in a nutshell, works." I would suggest Gentoo. The stage 3 tarball install has only the bare minimum to get the system going (+python for its app management). From there you 'emerge' only what you need on the system. Absolutely no fluff. Full base install is only a few hundred megs. :) Trust me, the install can be a bit on the rough side for a new user, but you'll get a really good grasp on how linux works afterwards. Also, don't use the graphical installer, just follow the manual for the hand install. :)

I second the Arch Linux suggestion. I have a fully functional KDE 4.1.1 desktop with all my favorite apps: Kmail, Firefox 3, Gimp, Blender, Open Office, Bibletime, etc. with only 628 installed packages, compared to over 1400 when I was using Kubuntu. It was not an easy installation, but I'm quite happy with the results. I also like the rolling release.

[quote] I am trying to get a better handle on how linux, in a nutshell, works. I know each distro is different and I am not looking to create a new one; I just want to be able to write a bit of code without all the other add-on's in the way to confuse my attemps. Hope that makes sense! :) [/quote] It makes perfect sense :) You should give a try to [url=http://www.linuxfromscratch.org]linux from scratch[/url]. It details the process of compiling the whole system, step by step. It will give you a better understanding of how linux distributions works, and once you're done, you'll have the system you're looking for. Good Luck. [Modified by: Artichaud on September 14, 2008 09:42 AM]

Arch Linux sounds like exactly what you're looking for. Base installation has nothing but the Linux kernel, some hardware drivers, and the package manager, pacman. You can also install wireless tools from the CD if you need them. From there on up you build your own environment from scratch. You can always install GNOME or KDE or whatever, or you can go the fully customized way, and install your preferred WM then work up from there. The base installation is a little daunting, but they've got a brilliant wiki, and after reading the Beginner's Guide you should be set. The Arch community is awesome too; the repositories are some of the most up-to-date I've seen, and pacman is an amazing little piece of software. It's like Gentoo only without all the headaches, like compiling your own software and dependency hell. You should give Arch a try; at least check out the website and wiki. It's pretty awesome.