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Gentoo
Gentoo Linux is perhaps the most-used source-based Linux distribution. "Source-based" means you compile the operating system and its applications from source code, rather than installing binary packages. As a result, you can build a system that's optimized for your individual machine. Source-based distributions, as a general rule, require more time to install and maintain that normal distributions.
One fundamental element that distinguishes Gentoo from other distributions is its package management system, called Portage, which is primarily oriented to installing software from source. This allows a great deal of control and customization -- while in binary distributions users have several packages for the same software with different dependencies and options (which actually gives users limited control compared to the options available when building the package from source), with Portage you set so-called USE flags to select optional features for the whole system or selected packages.
Portage has around 7,000 packages in its Portage tree, with new ones being added all the time. When you want to install a package, you type emerge packagename, and Portage automatically builds a custom version of the package to your exact specifications, optimizing it for your hardware and ensuring that the optional features in the package that you want are enabled -- and those you don't want aren't. Portage also keeps your system up-to-date. Typing emerge -u world ensures that all the packages that you want on your system are updated automatically.
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