Gentoo good for learning Linux, or configuration management

Gentoo good for learning Linux, or configuration management

Two years ago, I wanted to get involved in Linux, but it wasn't invented yet back when I was a CS major... and I had only recently encountered Linux in my workplace (move from commercial world to science research).

So I installed RedHat, and found it baffling -- what was all that stuff for? And at the time, the RPM install process was almost unusable, as RPM did not solve dependency graphs for me, and so I was always chasing package files to get something installed. Or I never got something installed...

So I worked up a system using Linux From Scratch, and while the process was, um, educational, there was no end to it; I never had a system that I could reliably use.

Gentoo fits in a great place, mostly automating the compilation process. I think that it makes a good platform for secure servers, since there is fine-grained control over what gets installed.