linux vs linux?

Hi all, I 'v recently committed to learning c++ for better and for worse through sickness and health, and after only two months of trying very hard, with many different books + forums like this one, I'me actually learning to think in c++, this has made the everyday world of linux imennsely simpler, since I'm thinking like a developer would think and not an end user, I'm less dependant on the gui as well although a good gui really helps me kick back...

My question is this: There are many linux distributions, however will a linux app that runs on one distro run on the rest? For example, will an app that came bundled with the redhat cd install and run in mandrake/SuSE/debian/corel? Will linux apps work on all linux distro's? if they will then this makes picking a distro much more painless for me. As I'm trying to find one with the highest app and driver developer support.


Thanks to everyone!

I believe most linux programs will run on other distributions because of the fact that most programs have to be recompiled whenever being installed...

Although, RPM's (RedHat Package Managers) will only work with a few distributions, but you can probably get the programs inside the RPM's in some other format.

I just downloaded the demolinux iso and burned a cd and botted it, this is sooo awesome!

I can learn linux, find my way around, and then when I'm fluent enough... dump windows like the rotten garbage that it is...

Now I have to pick a distro and figure out how to make my dsl modem work with it...

howdy Dreamerv3,
i am also trying to ditch M$ as an OS. I lurk on a couple of LUG's and find that for the most part the folks that post on users group boards are pretty willing to help a newbie.
M.R. ;)

In my experience, compiled binaries TEND to work on other linux distros as long as they really are linux. FreeBSD, for example, is not linux. Neither is solaris. However, c code is usually portable amongst the various flavors of UNIX/Linux, so don't fret about compatability with other *NIXes. You will most likely have some compatability issues with windows, so if cross-platform is important, you may want to think about an interpreted language (Perl, TCL, Java) instead of C.


--starX
www.axisoftime.com

the problem with rpm's i that different distro's install things in different places. also different distros provide different versions of software. A lot of the time the rpm depends on knowing where certain libraries are, is the library a current enough version, and are binaries the rpm depends on installed on the system. this is what makes it a good idea to obtain rpms for your distro...Mandrake and RedHat are for the most part compatible. Mandrake spawned from RedHat. The sure fire way to ensure the software behaves the way you want it to is to grab the rpm for you distro (don't ignore version number) or my favorite, do it the old fashioned way and compile it yourself ;). you learn a lot more about your system that way too..