REXOFCYBER Explains: What’s a Linux Distro and How Are They Different?

If you’ve heard anything at all about Linux, you’ve probably heard of Linux distributions – often shortened to “Linux distros.” When deciding to use Linux – on a desktop computer or server – you’ll first need to choose a distro.
For many people, Ubuntu has become synonymous with Linux. But Ubuntu is one of many distros, and you have a lot of choice when it comes to Linux.

What is a Linux Distro, Anyway?

Linux isn’t like Windows or Mac OS X. Microsoft combines all the bits of Windows internally to produce each new release of Windows and distributes it as a single package. If you want Windows, you’ll need to choose one of the versions Microsoft is offering.
Linux works differently. The Linux operating system isn’t produced by a single organization. Different organizations and people work on different parts. There’s the Linux kernel (the core of the operating system), the GNU shell utilities (the terminal interface and many of the commands you use), the X server (which produces a graphical desktop), the desktop environment (which runs on the X server to provide a graphical desktop), and more. System services, graphical programs, terminal commands – many are developed independently from another. They’re all open-source software distributed in source code form.
If you wanted to, you could grab the source code for the Linux kernel, GNU shell utilities, Xorg X server, and every other program on a Linux system, assembling it all yourself. However, compiling the software would take a lot of time – not to mention the work involved with making all the different programs work properly together.

Linux distributions do the hard work for you, taking all the code from the open-source projects and compiling it for you, combining it into a single operating system you can boot up and install. They also make choices for you, such as choosing the default desktop environment, browser, and other software. Most distributions add their own finishing touches, such as themes and custom software – the Unity desktop environment Ubuntu provides, for example.
When you want to install new software or update to new versions of software with important security updates, your Linux distribution provides them in precompiled, packaged form. These packages are fast and easy to install, saving you from doing the hard work yourself.

How Are the Distros Different?

There are multiple different Linux distributions. Many have different philosophies – some, like Fedora, refuse to include closed-source software, while others, like Mint, include closed-source stuff to make it easier on users. They include different default software – like how Ubuntu includes Unity, Ubuntu derivatives include other desktop environments, Fedora includes GNOME Shell, and Mint includes Cinnamon or MATE.

Many also use different package managers, configuration utilities, and other software. Some distributions are bleeding edge and won’t receive support for very long. Others, such as Ubuntu LTS or Red Hat Enterprise Linux, are designed to be stable distributions that will be supported with security updates and bug fixes for many years.
Some Linux distributions are intended for desktop computers, some for servers without a graphical interface, and others for special uses, such as home theater PCs.

Some are designed to work out of the box – like Ubuntu – while others require a bit more tweaking, such as Arch Linux.

What Distro Should I Choose?

Different Linux distributions are suited for different purposes. Which Linux distribution you should choose will depend on what you’re doing with it and your personal preferences.
If you’re a desktop user, you’ll probably want something simple, like Ubuntu or Mint. Some people may prefer Fedora, openSUSE, or Mageia (based on Mandriva Linux).





People looking for a more stable, well-tested system may want to go with Debian, CentOS (a free version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux), or even Ubuntu LTS.
There’s no one right distribution for everyone, although everyone has a favorite. Linux distributions offer choice, which can be messy, but also very useful. Anyone can make their own distribution by assembling it from the source code themselves, or even taking an existing distribution and modifying it – that’s why there are so many Linux distributions.

The Great Debate: Is it Linux or GNU/Linux?

You will usually see the Linux operating system referred to as “Linux” online. However, the term “GNU/Linux” is occasionally used instead. Linux and GNU/Linux refer to the same operating system and software, and there’s a controversy over which term is more appropriate.
We’re not here to take a side in this old debate, but this article should help you understand why there’s a naming controversy and what the difference is between the terms “Linux” and “GNU/Linux.”

What is “Linux”?

“Linux” itself is just the kernel – the core part of the operating system. Other software, such as the GNU C compiler used to compile the kernel, bash command-line shell, GNU shell utilities (all the basic commands you would use on a command line), X.org graphical server, a graphical desktop like Unity, and the software that runs on top of the graphical desktop, like Firefox, are all produced by different groups of developers.
Linux distributions assemble all this disparate software from different developers and call the complete package “Linux.”

The GNU Project

Richard Stallman made plans for GNU in 1983. GNU was to be a complete, Unix-compatible operating system made up of free software. GNU is a recursive acronym standing for “GNU’s Not Unix!”(“Free software” is a similar term to open-source software, although free software focuses more on “freedom.” But that’s a different controversy.)
By 1991, the GNU project had finished many of the pieces of the GNU operating system, including the GNU C Compiler (gcc), bash command-line shell, many shell utilities, the Emacs text editor, and more. Other parts of the operating system could be provided by already-existing free software, such as the X Window System, which provided a graphical desktop.
However, the core part of the operating system – the GNU Hurd kernel – was not complete. The GNU Project chose an ambitious microkernel design for the kernel, resulting in long delays. (As of 2013, the GNU Hurd kernel has been in development for 23 years and no stable version has ever been released.)

Linux Arrives

The kernel was seen as “the last missing piece” of the GNU operating system by the GNU project. In 1991, Linus Torvalds released the first version of the Linux kernel. There was now enough software for a completely free operating system, and distributors (like modern “Linux distributions”) assmbled the Linux kernel, GNU software, and X Window System together.
Initially, there was some debate over what these distributions should be called. In 1992, the Yggdrasil project chose the name “Yggdrasil Linux/GNU/X” for its combination of software. GNU/Linux is the preferred term advanced by Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation. Debian still refers to its software as “GNU/Linux” today.

The Case for GNU/Linux

The GNU project makes up a large part of the standard “Linux” system and was a project intended to develop a full operating system, named GNU. However, a significant part of Richard Stallman’s objection to the term “Linux” is that it downplays the significance of GNU and its original purpose: as a completely free operating system intended to provide freedom to users. This is intertwined with the debate over “free software” – a term intended to focus on freedom – and “open source” – a term intended to focus on technical advantages and downplay the philosophical angle.
As Richard Stallman said in an interview with ZNET in 2005:

Linux was not designed with the goal of liberating cyberspace, and the motives for Linux would not have given us the whole GNU/Linux system.
Today tens of millions of users are using an operating system that was developed so they could have freedom — but they don’t know this, because they think the system is Linux and that it was developed by a student “just for fun’.”

More of his thoughts on the subject can be read on the GNU website.

The Case for Linux

Proponents of the term “Linux” argue it’s a mistake to focus only on GNU, as the average distribution contains software from a variety of organizations and could be called Mozilla/KDE/Apache/X.org/GNU/Linux with similar justification.
The term Linux is also used by more people – if nothing else, it’s a simpler and easier name to remember, type, and pronounce. And whatever the ideal name is, the operating system itself is generally referred to as Linux by most people. You will find it referred to as “Linux” here on How-To Geek and elsewhere because it’s a more common term that readers immediately understand.
We’ll end with a quote from Linus Torvalds in 1996:

Umm, this discussion has gone on quite long enough, thank you very much.
It doesn’t really _matter_ what people call Linux, as long as credit is given where credit is due (on both sides).  Personally, I’ll very much continue to call it “Linux”