why dont we just download a map of the program instead of the whole program

ok i doubt i can explain my self but what if we could download a say linux distro thats 3 gigs but instead of the 3 gigs we downloaded a thing that told ya pc how to recreate the hole program and the downlkoad would be like 100 megs?

That's a very interesting thought. In a way, I think a compressed file, such as a ".zip" file, already might do something like this. Compressed files are generally quite a bit smaller than the original, but they contain all of the information necessary to tell your computer how to recreate the original, full-sized file, based on some compression/decompression technique.

I think the trouble with things such as linux distros, is that they are most likely already compressed just about as much as they can be before they're released, so they really can't get much smaller than they already are. (I don't know this for sure, though, because I don't have a lot of experience with linux).

Also, one other thing to consider is that very often, the instructions for how to create a file, can sometimes turn out to be larger than the final file itself. If you look at it from a programming point of view, very often the source code for a program will end up being quite a bit larger than the compiled, executable program itself. In that case, you'd be better off downloading the final program instead of the "map" (i.e. the source code) for how to create it.

Just an opinion...

yeah maybe im overthinking scarey thing they say soon the net may go down do to all the movie download sites and etc etc

raggie, your typing has improved, almost perfect above..any particular reason? just wonderin'

im trying a lot harder.soon ill get a computer desk i think that will help to right now my keyboard is on my lap but monitor is like on a dreeser.

I use Source Mage for my second OS (Gentoo just makes me want to kill something), and if you can get a desktop up and running on the first try, you're truly blessed.

Not only are there problems with building, but it will eat your CPU up for hours at a time. Oh, and you'll use more HDD space, due to having sources. Some sources, too, like the kernel, are many times larger than the binaries they make!

If you want to encounter problems, or want minimalism, source-based is fine. If you really want a usable desktop, go for the big downloads. Binaries may not compress as well as plain text, but it should Just Work™. If you want a fairly light and fast distro, but with good features, too, try Zenwalk or Yoper.

If building from source for every thing were made to work close to every time, it would be common. As it is, that's a pipe dream.

There are several OSes that do just that.

It's been a while, but I recall Debian has an internet based install. You download a loader which downloads the rest.

If you meant a bare bones install that installed the other parts as needed..... That would work fine until you needed to run a program real quick and it had to download and install the application, then the libraries and the you had to run the configuration program... It can take time to do these quick add-ons. I just built my wife's PC under XP. It had a fax program and I needed to fax something. But first it needed the install disk to load the other 3/4 of the fax program. Then I had to figure out the config.

I'd rather pick a time to install software. A period when I know I have time to complete the install and configurations.

Daniel