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Homemade Linux Distribution?

What is the distinction between an operating system and a distribution with regards to Linux?

  • For example, I have recently dived into Linux using the , and some other technologies. On some machines I have the Ubuntu operating system (based on the Debian distribution of Linux) and on others I have the Angstrom distribution of Linux. Not being able to fully understand the distinction between the two has not bitten me, but it's early yet. I have never done anything of significance in Linux, please phrase your answers accordingly.

  • Answer:

    Debian, Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise, and Ubuntu are all Linux distributions. They are also operating systems. Linux is, technically speaking, just a kernel, which is the core internals of an operating system. The rest of the operating system—the boot code, the GUI, filesystem utilities, etc—are all separate. Thus, early in Linux's history, folks would gather up the source code to the components of a complete Linux system, build them, set them up to their liking, and distribute them to their friends over the Internet. Hence the term "distribution." Thus all Linux distributions are also operating systems. If talking about Linux, the two terms are interchangeable. In my opinion, the term "distribution" is antiquated. While, say, Ubuntu is both a distribution and an OS, I call it only the latter. The term "distribution" is particular to Linux. Thus Mac OS X 10.8 is an OS but not a distribution. Summary: In Linux, the term "distribution" arose due to the manner in which Linux systems were assembled and distributed over the Internet. When talking about a specific Linux system, the terms "distribution" and "operating system" are interchangeable. Non-Linux systems don't use "distribution."

Robert Love at Quora Visit the source

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I assume,you have downloaded Linux kernel from http://kernel.org along with other utilities needed for the system (like Bash,Coreutils) + a window manager Gnome/KDE + applications like vlc player,libreoffice etc  and then created an bootable image out of it.Now you named it as "CL linux". Now if you share this image via ftp/http to other users - Then its a distribution.  :D Few weeks later,if some user informs "CL Linux" mailing list  about new kernel or major bug fix in vlc player.If you/your community decided to include these changes,then you have new release "CL Linux 2.0". Your distribution is more less similar to Fedora/Ubuntu distribution except they have volunteers/employee   who will be working closely with Kernel/Gnome/libreoffice  developers. And also note most distribution (Fedora/Ubuntu) provide easy way for its user to upgrade to new changes via package managers like apt-get/yum.  [There may be other critical differences than these two, just i'm providing some simple example] I have seen few friends in linux forums who built and use their own version [ http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/lfs/index.htmlfor fun. HTH

Lakshmipathi Ganapathi

Here's a simple answer: The operating system is composed of the kernel ( the piece of code that detects and initializes all the components that make up the 'computer' ), and some additional tools that let you create and access file systems, or manipulate data. A distribution refers to the way a vendor packages the operating system. For example, RedHat and Debian are distributions that organize their file structure at different locations. They also use a different method of installing additional software (RPMs vs DEBs). Ubuntu is a distribution based on "Debian", in that it follows many of the same configuration paths, but adds additional 'stuff' on top. In summary: A distribution is a vendor's own way of packaging the 'operating system'.

Jorge Gonzalez

Ha Ha, even text books do not try to give a hard definition for what is an operating system. It's a fuzzy topic at best. I would say the the operating system is strictly the kernel. This is Linux. To make it more useful and easier to maintain, you need other software. A distribution is the collection of that other software. The additional software of the distribution includes tools to boot into a GUI, which might be considered part of the OS but since you can have a computer execute user programs without it, I would consider it more of a utility. The distribution also includes software that is clearly has nothing to do with the operating system like web browsers, office software and photo viewers. I would also include that good distributions maintain the use-ability of user programs. Meaning that they test the software in their repositories to ensure that it works with the other software in their repositories.

Ronald Michalowski

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