[Techtalk] Binary or source distribution?

[Anne Wainwright]

Hi,

I feel so stupid asking, but what is the difference? I usually find an answer on Wikipedia, but amazingly no entry on this matter. 

A source distribution is one that you download as a tar.gz  from the developer and then have to make and all that stuff?
A binary distribution is one already compiled and installs ready to run from a downloaded .deb or .rpm format?
Am I right there?

While I am making a fool of myself, let's complete the job properly .....

I keep little notes in kjots of all things linux (like, now, Wim's netstat suggestion). I have never found a similar gnome utility. Am i missing out here? kjots is an interloper in my gnome setup, but I like it even if the format looks a little out of place.

bestest
Anne
-- 
so much to do, so little time :(