DemoLinux
Encyclopedia
DemoLinux has been one of the first Live CD
Linux distribution
s.
It was created by Roberto Di Cosmo
, Vincent Balat and Jean-Vincent Loddo, in 1998.
The DemoLinux CD was created to make it possible to use Linux without having to install it on the hard disk. It is the first Linux Live CD making possible to use the system in graphic mode and without any stage of configuration.
There are many other Live CD today. One can consider DemoLinux as the ancestor of Knoppix
.
DemoLinux offered to the users hundreds of applications (among which KDE
and StarOffice
) thanks to a compressed file system. The CD could be used without any modification on the hard disk, but the user had the possibility to use in a transparent way a space on the disc to store his personal data, and even to install new applications using the standard tools of the base distribution. Version 1 was based on Mandrake Linux (now Mandriva), versions 2 and 3 used a mechanism independent of the distribution and were distributed mainly on a Debian basis. These last versions made it possible moreover to install Linux on the hard disk, thus offering a very simple installation procedure of Debian (this principle is used today by other Linux distributions).
DemoLinux has been distributed in many magazines in several countries. It is still downloadable from the official website, but has not evolved since 2002.
Live CD
A live CD, live DVD, or live disc is a CD or DVD containing a bootable computer operating system. Live CDs are unique in that they have the ability to run a complete, modern operating system on a computer lacking mutable secondary storage, such as a hard disk drive...
Linux distribution
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...
s.
It was created by Roberto Di Cosmo
Roberto Di Cosmo
Roberto Di Cosmo is a computer scientist and director of IRILL, the Innovation and research initiative for free software .He graduated from the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and has a PhD from the University of Pisa, before becoming tenured professor at the École normale supérieure in Paris,...
, Vincent Balat and Jean-Vincent Loddo, in 1998.
The DemoLinux CD was created to make it possible to use Linux without having to install it on the hard disk. It is the first Linux Live CD making possible to use the system in graphic mode and without any stage of configuration.
There are many other Live CD today. One can consider DemoLinux as the ancestor of Knoppix
Knoppix
Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...
.
DemoLinux offered to the users hundreds of applications (among which KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
and StarOffice
StarOffice
StarOffice, known briefly as Oracle Open Office before its discontinuation in 2010, is a proprietary office suite. It was originally developed by StarDivision which was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1999...
) thanks to a compressed file system. The CD could be used without any modification on the hard disk, but the user had the possibility to use in a transparent way a space on the disc to store his personal data, and even to install new applications using the standard tools of the base distribution. Version 1 was based on Mandrake Linux (now Mandriva), versions 2 and 3 used a mechanism independent of the distribution and were distributed mainly on a Debian basis. These last versions made it possible moreover to install Linux on the hard disk, thus offering a very simple installation procedure of Debian (this principle is used today by other Linux distributions).
DemoLinux has been distributed in many magazines in several countries. It is still downloadable from the official website, but has not evolved since 2002.