Linux From Scratch

This is done by first installing basic applications (such as bash, gcc and make) which are compiled statically and then "booting" from that system (using chroot) and installing all the necessary programs.

After completing the HOWTO you will have a system that is configured completely to your personal taste and you will know a lot more about Linux.

The HOWTO is very regurly updated and their are several mailinglists where you can post problems about problems with the How-To or problems with running programs on LFS.

Their is also an effort to create Automated LFS which will automate the entire process, so you can select your preferences and come back hours/days later (depending on your computer) and find a completely customized system.

LFS can be build on both Intel and PPC. It needs a base system with development utilities such as a good working gcc. So that excludes Redhat 7.0.

Website: http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/

Linuxfromscratch (www.linuxfromscratch.org) is referred to as LFS. LFS is a book, available online, which walks the user through a process of assembling all of the pieces necessary to have a functional Linux operating system. LFS seeks to create a pure operating system which is built on pure source code with no code nuances left over from the C libraries of the system on which it is built.

LFS is more than a cookbook. LFS is a learning process. Moving through the LFS regimen will teach the user common methods employed to troubleshoot a Linux system, install source packages, apply patches, as well as many other things. LFS fosters an intimate understanding of how an operating system functions from power-on to power-off.

LFS is a way of life.