Terminal and all that other shit, I follow you. Command lines. Fine. I don’t know what the Linux terms mean, but I understand command lines etc… But GNOME… what the fuck is it? Is it a suite? an environment? Every Linux user explains things like I’ve already been a user for a few years and all of them have forgotten what being NEW actually is.
Ironically, the WORST place to find Linux environments explained simply and clearly from the bottom up: The Internet.
This is where I remind and beg: Like. I’m. FIVE.
In: 81
The command line is one kind of [shell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_(computing)), a method for the user to interact with the computer. A GUI is another type of shell.
The desktop environment is the set of basic programs and frameworks that run on top of the basic operating system (file system, process management, scheduler, etc) that let you the user actually do stuff graphically. Alternatives to GNOME include KDE, Lumina, and LXDE.
Distro is slang for “[distribution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_distribution)”, such as Fedora and Ubuntu.
If cars make sense to you, Linux the kernel can be thought of as the engine, the GNU utilities and package manager the transmission and chassis, and the desktop environment as the interior. Command line could be like directly manipulating the throttle plate and fuel flow, or individual circuits. Having a GUI is having standard pedals and a console of buttons.
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