Distributions
What does it mean to be a Linux distribution?
For larger distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Arch, etc, “being a distribution” is more about the “meta” than the actual nitty-gritty ones and zeroes. Distributions maintain package repositories, deciding what version of software you get, for what version of the distro. This involves defining something a bit less concrete: a philosophy.
This is the big difference between something like Debian, Ubuntu, and Arch, outside of their literal lineage. All three distributions have entirely different philosophies and goals.
- Debian wants to be rock solid at the expense of missing out on shiny new features.
- Arch wants to be bleeding edge at the expense of probably messing up your XOrg server every week.
- Ubuntu wants to be somewhere in the middle.
If you were to strip out absolutely everything that made a distro a distro (bash, GNOME, Xorg, even apt) you’d be left with just… Linux. The software that makes up a distribution is a very important part of the identity of the distribution, but if you try hard enough, you could physically turn Ubuntu into Fedora.
When you pick a distribution, you’re picking more than just the base software. You’re also picking how you want to experience Linux, from a bigger picture perspective.