Why are there so many different linux distributions and how do they really differ from the users perspective?
In: Technology
Linux is just the kernel, the core part of the operating system. A linux distribution is everything that sits on top of it and actually makes it useful.
The reason why there are so many different distributions is because linux is open source and free to download, modify, and use it pretty much however you want. There are some legal limitations on what you can do with it, but most of that is focused on respecting copyrights, attribution, and the open source nature of it.
Because linux has such a high degree of flexibility, there are tons of different frameworks, programs, and applications that have been made for it, and many of these are incompatible with each other. Building a distribution is a matter of figuring out which parts you want to put together and use. But some people have built and currently maintain pre-packaged distributions that are relatively easy to download, install, and use for someone who doesn’t know linux well enough to build their own from scratch, or just want something simple that works out of the box.
One of the biggest components that stands out in most distributions is the desktop environment. There are a lot of different options here. Some use a very windows like interface, some are touch friendly, and some don’t have a desktop environment at all and leave you with a simple command line interface.
Latest Answers