The first thing that puzzles someone new to Linux is the concept of Linux distribution. When you want to get Linux on your computer, what you install is actually a Linux "distribution" that contains a Linux kernel (see here for a definition of kernel) and some applications like Firefox (web browser) and Open Office (word processor and spreadsheet). There are several distribution available for you choose from, and one of the the first decision you will have to make is to choose your Linux distribution. To help you understand what is a Linux distribution I will take the Windows world as an example.
Currently most of you are probably using Windows, and that copy of Windows probably came installed on you computer when you purchased it. On your computer there was a little sticker explaining which version of Windows was on the computer. Common Windows versions include: Windows XP home edition, XP professional, XP starter, XP media center, Windows Vista basic, Vista premium, Vista professional, Vista ultimate. Soon there will also be Windows 7 starter, Premium, Business etc... These would be the Windows equivalent of a Linux distribution.
What is a Linux Distribution? It is a version of Linux that you install on your computer!
All of these are actually "Windows" and contain the Windows kernel that allows them to run applications designed for Windows. They also contain some applications like internet explorer or Windows media center. Sometimes the difference between the version is the user interface, sometime it's the applications that come bundled with that version of Windows, sometime it is how recent the version of Windows is. It can also happen that applications designed for one version '(e.g. Windows XP) don't work with another version (e.g. Windows Vista).
What is a Linux distribution? It is a Linux kernel bundled with an user interface and some applications!
In the Windows world the choice you had was probably limited to two or three options. The problem is that all the versions of Windows are sold to PC manufacturers by only one company, Microsoft, and they try to limit consumer choice to only a few possibilities.
In the Linux world there are several companies providing Linux distributions, each competing in a free market. This means that there is much more choice, many more versions of Linux than there are versions of Windows. Some distributions have specialized uses. For example the Linux distribution Mythbuntu is the equivalent of Windows XP media center edition, a version of Linux expecialy made for home theater computers (i.e. computers that you connect to your TV). Others like the Ubuntu Linux distribution try to provide the best all purpose experience for the home user and would be the equivalent of Windows XP home. Kubuntu offers the same home user experience but with an advanced 3D user interface and would be the equivalent of Vista home Premium. SUSE, a Linux distribution for the professional user and the enterprise, would be the equivalent of Windows XP professional. Some Linux distributions don't have an equivalent in the Windows world e. g. Ubuntu Studio which is a Linux distribution made for musicians.
Like there are applications designed for Windows XP or Windows Vista, some Linux applications are "compiled" for Ubuntu or SUSE, and these don't always work on the other distributions. Most big applications are common to most distributions however. For example Firefox and OpenOffice are available on almost all distributions the same way that Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office are available on all versions of Windows.
To answer the original question of "what is a Linux distribution", I'll conclude by saying that it is just a version of the Linux kernel bundled with a graphic interface and some applications, the same way that there are home and professional versions of Windows. The biggest difference is that there are more Linux distributions than there are versions of Windows. In a later post I will present the most common Linux distribution and explain to which kind of usage they are best suited.
In the previous post I have asked why you wanted to switch from Windows to Linux and highlighted a lot of very good reasons? In the next post I'll do the opposite and highlight a few of the disadvantages of Linux, so that you can decide if some of these could be deal-breakers for you.
If you want to know more about Linux distributions I suggest you also read the following article on Beginlinux: The Many Flavors of Linux
To be sure not to miss next week's tutorial you can subscribe to this blog in your RSS reader or you can receive updates by e-mail.
Currently most of you are probably using Windows, and that copy of Windows probably came installed on you computer when you purchased it. On your computer there was a little sticker explaining which version of Windows was on the computer. Common Windows versions include: Windows XP home edition, XP professional, XP starter, XP media center, Windows Vista basic, Vista premium, Vista professional, Vista ultimate. Soon there will also be Windows 7 starter, Premium, Business etc... These would be the Windows equivalent of a Linux distribution.
What is a Linux Distribution? It is a version of Linux that you install on your computer!
All of these are actually "Windows" and contain the Windows kernel that allows them to run applications designed for Windows. They also contain some applications like internet explorer or Windows media center. Sometimes the difference between the version is the user interface, sometime it's the applications that come bundled with that version of Windows, sometime it is how recent the version of Windows is. It can also happen that applications designed for one version '(e.g. Windows XP) don't work with another version (e.g. Windows Vista).
What is a Linux distribution? It is a Linux kernel bundled with an user interface and some applications!
In the Windows world the choice you had was probably limited to two or three options. The problem is that all the versions of Windows are sold to PC manufacturers by only one company, Microsoft, and they try to limit consumer choice to only a few possibilities.
In the Linux world there are several companies providing Linux distributions, each competing in a free market. This means that there is much more choice, many more versions of Linux than there are versions of Windows. Some distributions have specialized uses. For example the Linux distribution Mythbuntu is the equivalent of Windows XP media center edition, a version of Linux expecialy made for home theater computers (i.e. computers that you connect to your TV). Others like the Ubuntu Linux distribution try to provide the best all purpose experience for the home user and would be the equivalent of Windows XP home. Kubuntu offers the same home user experience but with an advanced 3D user interface and would be the equivalent of Vista home Premium. SUSE, a Linux distribution for the professional user and the enterprise, would be the equivalent of Windows XP professional. Some Linux distributions don't have an equivalent in the Windows world e. g. Ubuntu Studio which is a Linux distribution made for musicians.
Like there are applications designed for Windows XP or Windows Vista, some Linux applications are "compiled" for Ubuntu or SUSE, and these don't always work on the other distributions. Most big applications are common to most distributions however. For example Firefox and OpenOffice are available on almost all distributions the same way that Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office are available on all versions of Windows.
To answer the original question of "what is a Linux distribution", I'll conclude by saying that it is just a version of the Linux kernel bundled with a graphic interface and some applications, the same way that there are home and professional versions of Windows. The biggest difference is that there are more Linux distributions than there are versions of Windows. In a later post I will present the most common Linux distribution and explain to which kind of usage they are best suited.
In the previous post I have asked why you wanted to switch from Windows to Linux and highlighted a lot of very good reasons? In the next post I'll do the opposite and highlight a few of the disadvantages of Linux, so that you can decide if some of these could be deal-breakers for you.
If you want to know more about Linux distributions I suggest you also read the following article on Beginlinux: The Many Flavors of Linux
To be sure not to miss next week's tutorial you can subscribe to this blog in your RSS reader or you can receive updates by e-mail.
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2 comments:
A Distro does not always have a GUI bundled, look at INX for example.
Nice artice furtherly
I would like to point out that comparing Ubuntu to XP and KUbuntu to Vista is a little miss leading in that the difference is only in the presentation.
Yes, KUbuntu has more eye candy that say Ubuntu or XUbuntu, but the other two are much faster and snapper to user responses. The underlaying software in all three are the same versions, and thus software for one is compatible with the other two. Very much unlike XP and Vista.
It's important to note that all active distributions try to keep up to date, to a certian point. Since open software is often the projects of smaller teams, with many outside colaberators, they don't always get the pre-release quality assurance testing that you would expect from a business who's income was dependant upon their products. So they often release beta versions and ask the community to help with the testing. Some distributions will quick grab the new software, like Fedora to insure you have bleeding edge features, but as a side effect, some of the features are often broken. On the other end of the spectrum is Debian, when is often a year back in released due to their extremely high standard of quality. For this reason, if you do use their software, you can be assured that it's better than rock solid, it's diamond solid. The Ubuntu clan tends to sit right about in the middle.
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