rc.d init.d

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I learned something about Slackware today.

There are two styles of startup-files on Linux that I've run into. Slackware uses one, and RedHad and others use the other. This is "well DUH!" territory for people who play around in Linux-land a lot, but I haven't.

The Slackware Method
/etc/rc.d/ is the directory the startup files are kept. Files are "rc.something", rc.1 for runlevel1 on up etcetera, with other files (rc.inet1, rc.serial, etc) called in as needed.

Everyone Else (or at least RedHat and SuSE)
/etc/init.d is the directory the startup hive is kept (I think)
/etc/init.d/rc1.d/ is the directory holding the scripts to kick off runlevel1, and so on.

Today I learned that Slackware will kick off files in "/etc/rc.d/rc6.d/" if they are present. This is handy when installing programs that assume the other method.

Why Slackware?

Because that's what I ran into back in 1995 when I encountered Linux for the first time. I haven't taken the time to learn anything else. Gentoo scares me. SuSE makes me hide under the desk and peer out suspiciously. But I'm sure if I devote the time to it, I'll come out from under the desk and learn how to admin the darned thing. But not yet.

Update:
Slackware uses BSD-style startup, the other method is called SystemV. Now you know.

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Gentoo init scripts (System V style) are actually my favorite. Gentoo provides a utility (rc-update) to activate/deactivate the scripts. They also deemphasize runlevels which is great; i've never messed with them as far as init scripts are concerned.Don't let Gentoo scare you -- IMHO it is by far the cleanest distro out there.