OT: Windows is too expensive

[parabolize]

SLE is aimed for businesses (lots of server support), openSUSE is aimed for everybody else. They both use YAST Package Manager which uses RPM (RedHat Package Managment) which most people agree stinks (certainly Debian users). They also can use Debian's APT (Advanced Package Tool - built off of dpkg) but don't do so for the default install.

[Baron Munchausen]

So you have to buy some 'derivative' distro to get the APT versions?

[parabolize]

Huh? With Ubuntu/Debian (free distros) its installed and used by default. SUSE can install it but it isn't there by default: howto

[Baron Munchausen]

Well, a 'package' has to be prepared in advance. So, it seems likely you'd need to have a distribution prepared with the different package manager. It sounds like you're talking about something other than the storage format for the applications.

[Fyron]

Just some background info before I get to Suse..

A package manager is how you download and install software packages when you do not want to manually locate the source code on the net, compile it, then place the files in the necessary locations as per your distribution's file system scheme (which is somewhat standardized, but each distro has its own little tweaks). Most use of a package manager involves getting binaries directly, though it is possible to download things as source and still compile them yourself. The package will generally have a modified makefile with appropriate changes for the distribution, so it is still more automated than manual compiling.

In the Debian-based world, the fundamental package manager is apt (there are various GUI apps built off of it, but apt is the core). There are online package repositories available for each major apt-using distribution. These tend to have nearly every piece of linux software under the sun available and ready to install into the distribution. You use apt-search to look for packages, then apt-get to download and install them. You can also use apt to install a package you manually downloaded from some web site.

Then you have something like Red Hat's (or Fedora) RPM package manager, which (last I checked) only has the function to install package files you manually find on the net. There is not much in the way of a central online repository for competent ease of use.

For Suse, they seem to maintain their own package repositories already. OpenSuse 10.0 is already "prepared" to use apt. You do not need a "derivative" distribution of Suse to use it, you just need to install their version of apt and their sources file. You can just get OpenSuse 10.0 and download apt via YasT (as per the instructions on the site Parabolize linked). I have no idea how Suse' package repository compares to Debian or Ubuntu, though.

[geoschmo]

I believe Ubuntu uses Debian's apt, so technically those aren't separate items when discussing the package managers. That's my understanding anyway.

[Fyron]

I believe that Ubuntu has its own package repositories.