Linux

48348 readers

465 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
No misinformation
No NSFW content
No hate speech, bigotry, etc

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

160

Considering Starting Linux (ttrpg.network)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

99 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I have been using Windows my entire life, but since I got my Steam Deck I’ve been considering trying to get into Linux.

I obviously don’t have much of an idea where to begin, other than that I’m currently also trying to learn Javascript. I'd like a basic workstation I can code on and mess with, that doesn't run more than a couple hundred. Could use some recommendations for hardware plus where to begin.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Slackware, Ubuntu, Mint , Debian... They're called distributions and they're well... Distrubutors of software. Imagine they're like different app stores.

Not all software is present in all distros, but the most used ones are. And for everything else, there's Flatpak, which is sort of a distro-agnostic app store.

So there are several desktop environments (DE) out there, the big ones being GNOME and KDE. And distros will usually pick one as the default but will also offer others.

As an example, Debian doesn't lean much on its default DE, you're very much free to pick whatever you want. Mint, on the other hand, will only truly support Cinnamon, even though it packages other DEs.

Another thing is that not all software will be at its latest version on all distros. The stable branch of Debian is favored by server usage because they take a very deliberate approach to updates, making sure what they distribute is rock solid before shipping. The side effect is that packages are often quite a few versions behind the bleeding edge. Rolling releases like OpenSUSE Tumbleweed are always updating, so you're close to the latest software, but also closer to bugs.

Hope I helped.