Linux Distros

A Linux distribution, often simply distribution or distro, is a member of the Linux family of Unix-like computer operating systems. Such systems are built from the Linux kernel and assorted other packages, such as the X Window system and software from the GNU project.Because most (if not all) of the kernel and supporting packages are free software / open source, Linux distributions have taken a wide variety of forms — from fully featured desktop and server operating systems to minimal environments (typically for use in embedded systems, or for booting from a floppy). Aside from certain custom software (such as installers and configuration tools) a "distro" simply refers to a particular assortment of applications married with a particularly compiled kernel, such that its "out-of-the-box" capabilities meets most of the needs of its particular end-user base.

There are currently over three hundred Linux distribution projects in active development, constantly revising and improving their respective distributions. One can distinguish between commercially backed distributions, such as Fedora (Red Hat), SUSE Linux (Novell), Ubuntu (Canonical Ltd.), and Mandriva Linux and community distributions such as Debian and Gentoo.

A typical desktop Linux distribution comprises a Linux kernel, GNU tools and libraries, additional software, documentation, a window system, window manager, and a desktop environment. Most of the included software is free software/open-source software which is distributed by its maintainers both as compiled binaries and in source code form, allowing users to modify and compile the original source code if they wish. Other software included with some distributions may be proprietary and may not be available in source code form.

Distributions are normally segmented into packages. Each package contains a specific application or service. Examples of packages include a library for handling the PNG image format, a collection of fonts, or a web browser.

The package is typically provided as compiled code, with installation and removal of packages handled by a package management system (PMS) rather than a simple file archiver. Each package intended for such a PMS contains meta-information such as a package description, version, and "dependencies". The package management system can evaluate this meta-information to allow package searches, to perform an automatic upgrade to a newer version, to check that all dependencies of a package are fulfilled and/or to fulfill them automatically.

Most distributions install packages, including the kernel and other core operating system components, in a predetermined configuration. Few now require or even permit configuration adjustments at first install time.

Some distributions go to considerable lengths to specifically adjust and customize most or all of the software included in the distribution. Some distributions provide configuration tools to assist in this process.

Broadly, Linux distributions may be:

* Commercial or non-commercial;
* Designed for enterprise or for home usage;
* Designed for servers, desktops, or embedded devices;
* Targeted at regular users or power users;
* General purpose or highly specialized toward specific machine functionalities, for example firewalls, network routers, and computer clusters;
* Designed and even certified for specific hardware and computer architectures;
* Targeted at specific user groups, for example through language internationalization and localization, or through inclusion of many music production or scientific computing packages.
* Differently configured for security, usability, portability, or comprehensiveness
* Supported on different types of hardware

The diversity of Linux distributions is due to technical, organizational, and philosophical variation among vendors and users. The permissive licensing of free software means that any user with sufficient knowledge and interest can customize an existing distribution or design to suit his or her own needs.

Some of the popular Linux distributions are Slackware Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora, CentOS, Mandriva, openSUSE, Gentoo, Knoppix, Linspire, etc.