Editing Slackware (section)

===Development===
The size of Slackware quickly increased with the addition of included software, and by version 2.1, released October 1994, it had more than tripled to comprise seventy-three 1.44M floppy disk images.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mirrors.slackware.com/slackware/slackware-2.1/README.210|title=README.210 Slackware Release 2.1|website=Mirror.slackware.com|access-date=July 22, 2017}}</ref>

In 1999, Slackware saw its version jump from 4 to 7. Slackware version numbers were lagging behind other distributions, and this led many users to believe it was out of date even though the bundled software versions were similar. Volkerding made the decision to bump the version as a [[marketing]] effort to show that Slackware was as up-to-date as other Linux distributions, many of which had release numbers of 6 at the time. He chose 7, estimating that most other distributions would soon be at this release number.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slackware.com/faq/do_faq.php?faq=general#0 |title=The Slackware Linux Project: Frequently Asked Questions |website=Slackware.com |access-date=July 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108012703/http://www.slackware.com/faq/do_faq.php?faq=general |archive-date=January 8, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In April 2004, Patrick Volkerding added [[X.Org Server]] packages into the testing/ directory of -current as a replacement for the [[XFree86]] packages currently being used, with a request for comments on what the future of the [[X Window System]] in Slackware should be. A month later, he switched from XFree86 to X.Org Server after stating that the opinions were more than 4 to 1 in favor of using the X.org release as the default version of X. He stated the decision was primarily a technical one, as XFree86 was proving to cause compatibility problems. Slackware 10.0 was the first release with X.Org Server.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mirrors.slackware.com/slackware/slackware-10.0/ChangeLog.txt |title=Changelog.txt |format=TXT |access-date=August 31, 2024 |archive-date=March 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318220313/http://mirrors.slackware.com/slackware/slackware-10.0/ChangeLog.txt |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2005, Patrick Volkerding announced the removal of the [[GNOME]] [[desktop environment]] in the development ChangeLog. He stated this had been under consideration for more than four years and that there were already projects that provided a more complete version of GNOME for Slackware than what Slackware itself provided. Volkerding stated future GNOME support would rely on the community.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mirrors.slackware.com/slackware/slackware-10.2/ChangeLog.txt |title=Changelog.txt |format=TXT |access-date=August 31, 2024 |archive-date=March 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318220408/http://mirrors.slackware.com/slackware/slackware-10.2/ChangeLog.txt |url-status=live }}</ref> The community responded and as of October 2016, there are several active GNOME projects for Slackware. These include [[Cinnamon (desktop environment)|Cinnamon]], Dlackware, [[Dropline GNOME]], [[MATE (software)|MATE]], and SlackMATE. The removal was deemed significant by some in the Linux community due to the prevalence of GNOME in many distributions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tech.slashdot.org/story/05/03/28/009237/gnome-removed-from-slackware|title=Gnome Removed From Slackware - Slashdot|website=Tech.slashdot.org|date=March 27, 2005 |access-date=October 14, 2016|archive-date=October 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018225330/https://tech.slashdot.org/story/05/03/28/009237/gnome-removed-from-slackware|url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 2009, Patrick Volkerding announced the public (development) release of an official x86_64 variant, called Slackware64, maintained in parallel with the [[IA-32]] distribution.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://mirrors.slackware.com/slackware/slackware64-13.0/ChangeLog.txt |title=Changelog.txt |format=TXT |access-date=August 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221041854/https://mirrors.slackware.com/slackware/slackware64-13.0/ChangeLog.txt |archive-date=December 21, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Slackware64 is a pure 64-bit distribution in that it does not support running or compiling 32-bit programs, however, it was designed as "multilib-ready". Eric Hameleers, one of the core Slackware team members, maintains a multilib repository that contains the necessary packages to convert Slackware64 to multilib to enable running of 32-bit software.<ref name="multilib">{{cite web|url=http://www.slackware.com/~alien/multilib/|title=Index of /~alien/multilib|website=Slackware.com|access-date=July 22, 2017|archive-date=July 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720102144/http://www.slackware.com/~alien/multilib/|url-status=live}}</ref> Hameleers started the 64-bit port as a diversion from the pain of recovering from surgery in September 2008. Volkerding tested the port in December 2008, and was impressed when he saw speed increases between 20 and 40 percent for some benchmarks compared to the 32-bit version. To minimize the extra effort of maintaining both versions in parallel, Slackware's build scripts, called SlackBuilds, were slowly transitioned to supporting either architecture, allowing for one set of sources for both versions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7502/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720001002/http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7502|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 20, 2010|title=Interview with Eric Hameleers: Why You Should Try Slackware|website=Linux Magazine}}</ref> Slackware64 saw its first stable release with version 13.0.

Between the November 2013 release of 14.1 and June 2016, Slackware saw a 31-month gap between releases, marking the longest span in release history. During this time the development branch went without updates for 47 days. However, on April 21, 2015, Patrick Volkerding apologized on the ChangeLog for the absence of updates and stated that the development team used the time to get "some good work done." There were over 700 program changes listed on that ChangeLog entry, including many major library upgrades. In January 2016, Volkerding announced the reluctant addition of [[PulseAudio]], primarily due to [[BlueZ]] dropping direct [[Advanced Linux Sound Architecture|ALSA]] support in v5.x. while various other projects were in turn dropping support for BlueZ v4.x. Knowing some users would not be happy with the change, he stated that "Bug reports, complaints, and threats can go to me." These changes culminated in the release of Slackware 14.2 in June 2016.<ref name="CL14.2">{{cite web |url=https://mirrors.slackware.com/slackware/slackware-14.2/ChangeLog.txt |format=TXT |title=This update contains security fixes and improvements. |website=Slackware.cs.utah.edu |access-date=July 22, 2017 |archive-date=February 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208004250/https://mirrors.slackware.com/slackware/slackware-14.2/ChangeLog.txt |url-status=live }}</ref>