most recent 30 from superuser.com 2010-03-22T14:49:28Z http://superuser.com/feeds/question/68264 http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://superuser.com/questions/68264/whats-the-difference-between-the-different-flavors-of-linux 2 CrazyJugglerDrummer http://superuser.com/users/2474 2009-11-10T01:10:48Z 2009-11-10T01:32:16Z

<p>I'm not extremely linux familiar, but I've heard all these different types, like Ubuntu, Debian, Red hat, Fedora, etc. I assume some are sequential releases, but what's the difference between them?</p>

http://superuser.com/questions/68264/whats-the-difference-between-the-different-flavors-of-linux/68265#68265 3 nik http://superuser.com/users/263 2009-11-10T01:17:57Z 2009-11-10T01:17:57Z

<ol> <li>Wikipedia: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison%5Fof%5FLinux%5Fdistributions" rel="nofollow">Comparison of Linux Distributions</a></li> <li>Further reading at <a href="http://distrowatch.com/" rel="nofollow">DistroWatch</a></li> <li>Similar question: <a href="http://superuser.com/questions/135/what-are-the-differences-between-major-linux-distributions-will-i-notice">What are the differences between major Linux distributions? Will I notice?</a></li> </ol>

http://superuser.com/questions/68264/whats-the-difference-between-the-different-flavors-of-linux/68270#68270 3 ~quack http://superuser.com/users/12786 2009-11-10T01:32:16Z 2009-11-10T01:32:16Z

<p>"Linux" properly refers to the OS kernel. </p> <p>By "different flavors of linux", you are referring to different Linux distributions. A "distribution" is a complete operating system -- a particular packaging of the kernel with various other utilities, services and shells that provide the rest of what users expect from an operating system. <a href="http://superuser.com/questions/68264/whats-the-difference-between-the-different-flavors-of-linux/68265#68265">nik's answer</a> provides some good links to start with.</p> <p>The differences between distributions are in the particulars of</p> <ul> <li>what a distribution is designed to accomplish, </li> <li>which versions of what tools it includes to achieve that goal, and</li> <li>how it chooses to handle configuration and packaging.</li> </ul> <p>A distribution aimed at desktop users typically includes the X-window system, a desktop environment, a printing subsystem, networking components, etc. One designed for servers often doesn't include X or a desktop environment, but adds services that aren't needed on a desktop (webserver, database, network filesystems, etc).</p>