this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023
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Linux

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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.

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What are the major components of any Linux distribution? (lemm.ee)
submitted 11 months ago by perishthethought@lemm.ee to c/linux@lemmy.ml
37 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Hi all - I am learning about Linux and want to see if my understanding is correct on this - the list of major parts of any distro:

  1. the Linux Kernel
  2. GRUB or another bootloader
  3. one or more file systems (gotta work with files somehow, right?)
  4. one or more Shells (the terminal - bash, zsh, etc...)
  5. a Desktop Environment (the GUI, if included, like KDE or Gnome - does this include X11 or Wayland or are those separate from the DE?)
  6. a bunch of Default applications and daemons (is this where systemd fits int? I know about the GNU tools, SAMBA, CUPS, etc...)
  7. a Package Manager (apt, pacman, etc...)

Am I forgetting anything at this 50,000 foot level? I know there are lots of other things we can add, but what are the most important things that ALL Linux distributions include?

Thanks!

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[–] khorovodoved@lemm.ee 28 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (4 children)

I would say, that from most important to least important components are:

  1. kernel
  2. init system (systemd, openrc, runit...)
  3. C library (glibc, musl)
  4. filesystem
  5. coreutils
  6. shell
  7. bootloader
  8. package manager
  9. x11/Wayland (if any)
  10. sound system (if any)
  11. WM (if any)
  12. DE (if any)
[–] lseif@sopuli.xyz 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

what do u mean by important? like 'essential to the system', or 'important to consider when choosing a distro', or what?

[–] khorovodoved@lemm.ee 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I mean "something out of ordinary about it affects your experience with this distro the most".

[–] lseif@sopuli.xyz 1 points 11 months ago

i see

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'm surprised you put shell so high when it tends to be less impactful in my experience. Like I care a lot more if my distro is using GNOME instead of KDE a lot more than if it's using bash instead of zsh. Plus it's easy to install and use a different shell

[–] khorovodoved@lemm.ee 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It is easy to install another shell indeed, but it is quite difficult to configure it. While installation of DE is usually done with just one command. And you can use linux without DE, but not without shell. Many distributions even do not install DE by default at all.

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 2 points 11 months ago

Okay but unless you are spending a lot of time in the command line, one (POSIX compliant) shell is as good as another. Like yes every distro needs a shell, but I don't much care which shell it is.

[–] ultra@feddit.ro 3 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Wouldn't the c library be more important than the init system?

[–] khorovodoved@lemm.ee 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You are probably right. It is probably even more important than kernel.

[–] ultra@feddit.ro 1 points 11 months ago

Not really.

[–] tricoro@lemmy.ml 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

One thing I don't know: if C is a compiled language already, what exactly does the C library do?

[–] lseif@sopuli.xyz 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

it is a dynamically linked library, meaning its not in the compiled binary, but its assumed to already be on the system. as opposed to a statically linked binary. this lowers the file size of the binaries, because most will use the standard library.

edit: this may not be 100% correct, but its the general idea

[–] khorovodoved@lemm.ee 3 points 11 months ago

Most C binaries usually do not contain everything needed for their execution. It would make them too platform-specific. What most c programs do is that they use standard c library from platform for low-level things and communication with the system like memory allocation or stdin/stdout things, for example.