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
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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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[–] thelastknowngod@lemm.ee 4 points 11 months ago

It's easier to think about Linux on the context of what an individual application needs to run. Pretty much everything you do will have these components.

  • configuration
  • an executable
  • a communication mechanism (dbus, networking, web server, etc)
  • something that decides if the application runs or not (systemd, monit, docker/docker compose, kubernetes scheduler, or you as the user)
  • a way of accepting input (keyboard and mouse, web requests, database queries, etc)
  • a way of delivering an output (logging to unique log files, through syslog, or to stdout/stderr, showing something on a screen, playing a sound, returning a message to the client, etc)
  • storage (optional)
  • some cpu and memory capacity

That's really it. If something isn't working, it's pretty much exclusively going to fall into one of those categories. What that means is going to vary significantly from app to app but understanding this is how literally everything works makes the troubleshooting process a lot easier.