Does the Gentoo install CD contain everything for C++ development?

Question

I'd like to install Gentoo. I need it to develop GUI C++ applications using wxWidgets, so I need:

• build tools: make, automake, autoconf, etc.
• C++ compiler (GCC)
• X Window System for testing (Fluxbox or something minimal would be enough)

Now, I have two options:

• download the small network installer (57MB) do a network install
• download the 600MB CD

I'd like to download as less as possible and still have all the tools above.

I also don't understand whether the network installer will first prompt me for the packages I want, or it will fetch 600 MB of data anyway?

I might want to install it on other computers later, so I'd go with 'full' install from CD if the network install does not save me anything.

Answer 1

Gentoo is ultraminimalist by default.

The install CD gets you a basic working system, a basic compile environment ( Some version of the GCC suite ), and package management.

Its up to you then to install what you want to use.

Its not like many other distributions where theres a big set of "default" packages to have installed.

You have to know what you want, and install what you want.

The "Live" Cd will make things a bit quicker by having a few precompiled binaries available, but besides that, you still have to choose what you want to install.

I also don't understand whether the network installer will first prompt me for the packages I want, or it will fetch 600 MB of data anyway?

it will only install what you want to. If you use NetInstall and install nothing except GCC, it will only download enough to have GCC.

Welcome to gentoo.

It can be a little daunting for first timers, but once you've gotten past the steep learning curve you'll love it :)

Answer 2

Use network install. It does save you something and even if you do multiple installations you'll probably want the newest packages anyway. And no the network installer will not download the 600MB without asking you that would make no sense.

Answer 3

Gentoo doesn't exactly "prompt" for packages. The network CD will get you a small base system, then it's up to you to set everything else you need up yourself. This is one of the positive and negative things about Gentoo.

Answer 4

Update: looks like network install is not that minimal. There's 57MB .iso image, but you also need to download stage3 which is about 120MB and portage with is 29MB. And later on, you need the Linux kernel, which is about 46MB. This totals about 250MB. Or am I missing something?

Update: I have installed the Kernel, X Window system, mc, Lilo, etc. and have a working system :) Summing all up, it downloaded about 580 MB. Well, it is still less than install CD!

Answer 5

You're not missing anything. Furthermore, if you actually want any useful applications, you're going to have to do a lot more downloading than that even. The point is, the small network install CD lets you download whichever version of those components that you want, and the latest version of portage, etc, instead of providing you with (likely) outdated copies on the full CD.

Answer 6

Gentoo is fundamentally a network based distro. The minimal CD is really minimal, it contains just enough to have a functional system booting as livecd so one can install the distribution basically from the network. The livecd (there are also livedvd's around, just not as regularly released (they eat diskspace and bandwith). contains a full graphical environment (and being a compile-yourself distro) obviously gcc as C++ compiler, and can be used to install a binary version of the packages to disk (actually from the livecd environment using some clever hackery).

However, gentoo is a continuously updated distribution. If you want to update your system you need to get the packages from the network (there are ways to find what to download etc, but that is not for beginners) and update. In general, if you don't update every couple of months, your updates can become painful or really painful.