KateOS

What is KateOS?

KateOS is currently the best Polish(ed) Linux distro. It is developed dynamically by Kate team, and actively supported by a well educated community. Since early 2004, the team members have learned exactly what are the needs of Linux users in Poland and worldwide. The current development of KateOS is based on experience of people all around the world, who support and broaden the ideas of the project. KateOS is fast, stable and secure, and most importantly of all, gives its users a choice. We do not believe in applications satisfying the needs of all users. This is why we let our users choose their tools on their own. The developers are in contact with the users all the time. In the forum and on the IRC channel, everyone has a say on how the project is run, on the solutions we implement, on the ergonomy of various tools, and on everything KateOS. All opininons are considered by the developers. We can proudly say that in the entire history of the project, every release was better than its predecessor, and gained more active users. We have shown that it is possible to merge consistency and coherency with unlimited development which takes place every day in the repositories, in the code base, and in developers' heads. KateOS is also a great documentation built up by our community. It has shown many users how to extract the best of their system. Thanks to the KateOS Documentation Centre everyone can help develop the distro, and give others a hand when they are taking their first steps in the system. Especially for our community, we have created the PKGportal where users can freely exchange their KateOS packages. We hope you will join our users community, too!

Most important KateOS subprojects

Although the KateOS system is built upon many other projects from all over the world, it also includes several of its own subprojects developed by the KateOS Team.

  • libsmarttools - The core KateOS library is libsmarttools, a C++ library designed to make system configuration operations much easier. SmartTools is used by libupdateos, updateos, libpkg and update-notifier for things as diverse as multithreading, memory and file management, terminal control, archives, configuration files, and file downloading from the Internet. The primary goal of libsmarttools is to provide a common base for all KateOS tools, but some care has been taken to make it portable to other platforms for other applications as well.

  • libpkg - The libpkg library was created to provide easy handling of TGZex files, including installation, removal, actualization, and documentation. Currently it is used by pkg, and in the future all tools for handling TGZex packages will interface with this library.

  • libupdateos - The libupdateos library extends libsmarttools to provide support for handling remote software repositories. Currently, only updateos and update-notifier make use of this library, but in the future all applications using remote repositories will be doing so through libupdateos.

  • PKG - PKG is the most fundamental package management tool in KateOS. Written in C++, it allows users to deal with packages in a fast and safe way. PKG supports tracking package dependencies on TGZex packages, and has limited support for Slackware TGZ packages.

  • updateos - The updateos tool is the primary application for updating software via remote repositories. It uses both libsmarttools and libupdateos to allow an easy software installation and a safe system update at the console.

  • The KateOS CORE installer - The KateOS CORE installer is a text-mode installer and a heavily modified decendent of the Slackware installer. It provides a TGZex package handling engine complete with dependency tracking, as well as a complete (but optional) automation for common install-time tasks, such as the creation of a proper initramfs image and configuration of the X server, the network connection, and the hibernation subsystem. The installer also provides easy-to-use dialogs for adding additional users to the system. The installer also makes full use of gettext which means that it can be easily translated into any language. Its simplicity and functionality make it the default KateOS installer, and a great choice for most installations.

  • installos - installos is a fully graphical installer written in PHP with the PHP-GTK library. It is used in the KateOS LIVE edition, and is a good choice for beginners. installos is fully automatic - all the user needs to do is to choose the partition and the desired file system, and installos will take care of everything else. It can be translated into numerous languages using gettext.

  • katepkg - KatePKG is a graphical software management tool written in PHP-GTK. It gives users a very easy-to-use GUI for installing, updating, and removing packages, rolling the capabilites of both PKG and updateos into one user-friendly, mouse-driven application.

  • katelan - KateLAN is a graphical network configuration tool. The user simply needs to select the interface and provide some basic data, and KateLAN will take care of the rest.

  • realm - Realm is a graphical repository management tool which makes it trivial to add, modify, and remove repositories from the system configuration.

  • update-notifier - update-notifier is a system tray tool which informs the user about available updates as soon as the are available in the repositories. Written using libupdateos and gtkmm, it lets the user easily choose which packages to update and subsequently update them.


In addition to the above list, there are many smaller tools and translations which are being developed daily, but it would be overkill to list them all here. We hope that this overview has aroused some interest in our main subprojects, and that you will consider joining the KateOS Team.

Main features

  • low system requirements, making the system still usable even on i486 machines
  • integration of the PAM authorization system, making the life of every system administrator a lot easier
  • TGZex packages, easy to build, ready to update
  • BSD-type init scripts, which can be easily adapted to users' personal needs
  • simplicity, making it easier to keep the system's security and integrity on the highest level
  • Xfce as the default desktop, which provides a comfortable working environment, and saves a great lot of compuer's resources
  • preferred GTK+ library, used by lots of GUI applications
  • limited amount of applications in the KateOS CORE, providing a better integration of programs and libraries
  • a set of applications, tools and libraries for developers
  • multimedia applications and codecs, ready for use right after the installation
  • non-commercial distro, making it independent on institutions of ant kind, and making sure it will always remain free
  • easy updates - the entire system can be updated with just one click
  • efficient tools, making the system maintanance, updating and confguration a lot easier
  • ease of localizing - we are open to include all new translations
  • a set of C++ libraries designed to unify package management, and make creating new application easier

Principal assumptions of the project

  • possibly lowest system requirements (in acceptable limits)
  • KateOS CORE should provide a limited number of tighly integrated packages
  • bigger sets of software should be merged into KateOS extension modules; this way KDE and Gnome are published; each extension module contains packages with their corresponding libraries - which means installing a module is enough to obtain f.ex. the entire Gnome environment
  • single authorization environment
  • aimed at power users worldwide
  • simplest possible structure, and use of the newest technologies
  • high security and efficiency standards
  • problem-free updating
  • open for new demands submitted by the users
  • developed in series to avoid updating problems and incompatibility
  • developed by a limited number of people, achieving planned goals with the help of an active community

Many more assumptions result from the way the distro is developed.

The development model

The project is run by the members of the Kate_Team, who know each other and cooperate. They are supervised by the Leader (currently the founder of the project) who decides what the development path will look like. The Leader makes the most critical decisions. They are irrevocable, and can be disputed no longer, once the decision has been made. This approach guarantees that we will not be wasting time on long talks which often bring no results whatsoever. Kate_Team is formed by volunteers who receive no payment for their work (this is quite obvious, given that the project is a non-profit one). The Leader sets goals and deadlines for the Kate_Team. Every new release includes a LIVE edition, working directly from the CD. New series are released in at least 8-months intervals. In the meantime, the current version is supported by the project in 100%. There is no expiry date for the project, the distro will be developed as long, as there will be developers willing to do it. The decisions made by the Kate_Team are consulted with the community. The Kate_Team members are bound by the Kate_Team rules.