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Wanted To Know:: What’s the difference between Linux operating systems?
Linux has a lot of operating systems, I’m not even going to bother to list them. I was wondering, it there a difference between them? Does each type of Linux operating system hold a specific purpose? For example, Red Hat holds a different functionality to Ubuntu, or something like that.
One thought:
Answer by Meh, Internets
Different distributions are tailored to different types of users and tasks. Some, like Ubuntu and Mint are focused for the average user as a general use system, OpenSUSE and Fedora are focused at more advanced users, and then there are specific use distributions like BackTrack, which is for penetration testing.
Each one has its own customizations and tweaks, and they choose from a multitude of different desktop environments (Gnome, KDE, Unity, Fluxbox, etc) and package managers (YUM, Debian, “real men compile from source”, etc.)
What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
filed under: Linux | permalink
6 Responses to “What’s the difference between Linux operating systems?”
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Nathan Says:
September 12th, 2012 at 12:25 amEach distro comes with different programs and tweeks to the os usually so pretty much:
Different programs
Tweeked OS for specific reasons e.g pen testing ect -
Charlie Kelly Says:
September 12th, 2012 at 1:07 amRed Hat and Cent are normally more for corporate environments.
Otherwise there are conflicts over the ‘right’ way to do things, so different distro’s appear.
There are some that are built for specific purposes like network storage, but any major distro is general purpose.
Try a few in virtualbox to decide on what you like.
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Whatevers Says:
September 12th, 2012 at 2:06 amDoes each type of Linux operating system hold a specific purpose? Not quite. Many are very similar in purpose, providing a friendly desktop environment, or a specific embedded version, or so forth.
There are differences between Red Hat and Ubuntu, but they amount to more like the differences between different cars. Sometimes they’re all pretty similar, like a Camry and a Fusion. But sometimes you have a truck thrown in, or a lawn mower.
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SkyBlu✈ Says:
September 12th, 2012 at 3:01 amUbuntu and Mint is best for beginner. Linux uses different Kernels such as GNOME, KDE, LXDE, Xfce which in laymen terms is like Mac vs Windows. The different Kernel provides a different look, feel, use, experience, etc… The most basic is GNOME which is Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, KDE is OpenSUSE, and so on. Most Linux OS’s do have a specific purpose, some lack one thing and others have it, it just depends. Some are laid out to be more user friendly, others are for the experienced user while others are used just for everyday computing. Backtrack Linux is good for hacking while Ubuntu is good for an overall pleasurable use experience. More info? Email me on here…
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draciron Says:
September 12th, 2012 at 3:43 amLinux has many distros but all versions of Linux are the same OS.
Linux is extremely customizable. So much so that it’d be impossible for one person to do all the tweaks necessary to have what most people consider a polished and functional operating system. On top of that many Linux distros are heavily customized for specific purposes. Robotics, hardware appliance (routers for example), Real time OS (traffic lights, microwave ovens, unmanned aircraft), Music studios, Network security, Home theatre, Cash register, various industrial and scientific specialties, generic servers and so on.
There are also distros that are specialized to fit on a 1.44 floppy, thumb drives and a few distros specifically designed to run on CDs rather than be installed on a machine. There are distros that mimic other operating systems such as Mac OS and Windows so closely that at a glance you wouldn’t know that you were not using those OS’s. Other’s are branded such as Dell’s version of Ubuntu which is customized for Dell hardware.
There are also commercial versions of Linux. Red Hat Enterprise for example which is designed for high end servers and IBM’s SUSE which has customizations for running on IBM virtual servers/being the host OS for the virtual servers, a desktop version which much of Europe’s governments uses.
Distros often come with sub distros that are customized for various purposes. For example most major distros have a KDE and a Gnome version These are customized to people’s favorite window managers and some distros support up to 5 or 6 window managers with sub-distros. Most support at least 2 or 3. Long term support, special purpose sub-distros like Ubuntu Studio which is geared for musicians are also common with widely used general distros.
The majority of distros however are shortcuts for Linux users to get what they want/need without spending the thousand of hours personally making those customizations. For example some like myself do too much customization and install too much software to upgrade a machine every 2 years. So long term support versions appeal heavily to me. I need and use a large variety of applications so it’s important to have very large software repositories. Other people choose high performance bare bone distros. Some people want total control over their sytem and choose primitive distros that give you the bare min necessary, anything else the user installs themselves and customize as they see fit. (not recommended for anybody but an expert).
There are philosophical choices involved in choosing a distro. One big split for example is RH vrs Debian based systems. The RH fork (RHE, SUSE, Mandriva, CentOS) and Debian fork (Ubuntu, Debian) have some small differences in the way they are built. For example RH systems use YUM for software installation while Debian based systems use Apt-Get. You can install and use YUM on Debian systems and Apt-Get on RH systems. It’s just a matter of defaults. Same with how root privileges are handled, and other minor details. The average user won’t notice such subtle differences.
I’ve included a link to distro watch which gives details about specific distros as well as release cycles and where to download them.
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Dowson Says:
September 12th, 2012 at 4:15 amThe core is similar,and the difference is shell、tool,etc.