little bit of linux info please

[lukeh182]

what is the difference between i386, i686, and PPC? what do they mean? what's it all about? thanks any help

[BillLeeLee]

They refer to the architectures they're meant to run on and optimized for.

For example, i386 are meant for x86 computers from the 386 era to current.

i686 are for x86 computers since the Pentium Pro age.

PPC means Power PC, which means Macs and Apples (I think).

[lukeh182]

thanks! i figured that it was something along those lines but i didn't really know specifics. i appreciate your help:D

[cloaked]

if you are looking for binaries or such, and you have any resonably recent processor, and i_86 package will work for you. The higher the first #, the more current arch the package will have been compiled for.
although all x86 packages are compatible, if you are using a different arch, such as ia64, sparc, alpha or ppc, you will need binaries for that architecture, or get the source and compile it yourself