Why are there so many different linux distributions and how do they really differ from the users perspective?
In: Technology
Anyone can make one, so there are as many distros as there are opinionated admins who have a specific idea of how it should be done.
Sometimes they’re goal-focused. There are plenty of distros that are set up so that, right out of the gate, they support some particular task or need. Scientific Linux, for example, was designed to be a common linux for lab work, to make it easier to share results.
RHEL, arguably the most popular “enterprise” Linux is designed to be internally compatible through it’s whole lifecycle, so if you deploy on RHEL9, you can patch with relatively little fear that regular patch cycles will break your applications.
Ubuntu is designed to be the most user-friendly, with the sort of out of the box GUI support and compatibility features that desktop users need.
The main difference (imho) is how packages are handled. You’re either building from source, or you’re using a package manager like RPM or DPKG. People have incredibly strong opinions about this, but really it’s just what you’re comfortable with. Second to that, you’re talking release cycles and patch availability. And finally, just out-of-the-box functionality. Some linuxes have more, and some have less, and that weighs with people who don’t want to have to spend a lot of time on customization.
There are so many distributions because people are working off of open source code, which gives them the freedom to modify and publish as they see fit. It’s impossible to make a fork or Windows or macOS in the same way.
And yes, they can differ a lot; [Elementary](https://elementary.io/) and [Lubuntu](https://lubuntu.me/) show how different distros can provide very different experiences, in terms of how they look and feel, what kind of hardware they run on, and what you’re able to do with them.
Unlike Windows or MacOS, the Linux kernel (the foundation and core of an operating system) is free and open source. Anyone can [download](https://github.com/torvalds/linux) and mess around with it.
Because a distribution is an assembly of hundreds of different software packages built around the Linux Kernel.
Many of these packages are mutually exclusive (you can hardly run two init systems or desktop environments at the same time) or are highly configurable in how they work. And because of that there are hundreds of ways to pick and choose which packages to use and how to configure them.
A distribution is a collection of packages, configured according to the distribution maintainer’s preference.
because there is no boss that tells you how you must do it. If you don’t like how it is done, you can do it differently.
Different Linux distros tend to be tailored towards specific solutions
Some have been commercialized to include support and/or guaranteed compatibility for a number of years.
Think of why there are so many different cars. Some people like different colors. Some people trust different manufacturers (maintainers). Some people dislike the position of the cup holders or how the engine isn’t powerful. Some people need the truck to tow or a minivan to carry kids while others prefer a motorcycle or sedan.
Different distributions will cater to and fit different people. Some will support the newest hardware at the risk of more bugs, some will be 100% stable but miss out on the newest features. Some will be barebones, some will come decked out with features.
It’s best not to think of “Linux” as an operating system, but as an operating system framework. It’s a kit that you can pick up for free so that you can assemble your own operating system. But the framework by itself is a bit limited and you can’t do much. It just has a blinking cursor, a text editor, and a few other things, but not what you need in an operating system.
So you want more power than the blinking cursor? Like windows and menus and bars? You could build that too, from scratch, if you wanted. But most people don’t want to do that. But other people have built Window managers already that you can download and just plug into your Linux. If you spend some time looking at KDE, GNOME, and some others, you may find one you like.
But maybe you want it to do other things too? Maybe you want to be able to log into it remotely. Someone has something you can download for that too, and plug it into your Linux.
After a while, you plug so many things into your Linux that it gets hard to keep track of them so they play well together. So you plug in a package manager, like aptitude, and it manages all of those “packages” you’ve plugged in, and makes it easier to plug in even more packages.
Eventually, after tweaking and customizing so many things, you decide that your Linux does exactly what you want it to do. Its an operating system, but its YOUR operating system. And it does a lot just how you want it to. Your friend likes your operating system as well and asks if he can use it too. Other friends say the same thing and also want a copy of your Linux for their computers.
And that’s how you’ve made your first Linux distro.
To understand how they differ, we must remember what a distro is. A distro is essentially a combination of 3 things:
– A packaging format, managed through a package manager
– A set of default packages to include
– A bunch of default configs for those packages.
That’s essentially what can differ between distros.
Now why are they so many, it’s because of multiple reasons.
– The first one is that a distro is easy to make and as linux and most other components are open-source it makes that more accessible.
– Secondly, distros don’t have to start from scratch and are often derivatives of existing ones.
– Thirdly, each person likes to install their PC slightly differently than someone else. One might want a distro ready out-of-the-box with say Steam, OBS etc, one might want something with each app encapsulated for security reasons, one might want an heavily debloated distro to squeeze the maximum performance out of a server…
– Finally, some just do it for fun and/or see that as a challenge to accomplish.
Anyone can make their own Linux distribution. YOU can make your own Linux distribution. A lot of people did make their own distro, tweaked it to their own liking and shared it out. Some companies made their own distro and shared it out. Some of these distros were focused on the latest software tech, some were focused on stability and security. Some distros were made for programmers, some were made for the User Experience. Some of the best tweaks and configurations of all those distros were used by some one/company to make even better Linux distribution.
That’s why some distros are so similar: they share the same parents, and that’s why the user experience differs between them: they are for different audiences.
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