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This article mainly shows you "how to choose a Linux distribution". The content is simple and clear. I hope it can help you solve your doubts. Let the editor lead you to study and learn this article "how to choose a Linux distribution".

Package Manager

Perhaps this is the most significant difference between distributions, Linux is different from Windows, most of the compiled software packages can be downloaded from software sources, and there are complex dependencies between various software packages, which are difficult to solve manually, so the package manager was born.

For package managers, it can be said to be factional in Linux, and now it is mainly divided into the following three factions

DPKG

This is the Debian Linux family of package manager, the use of its distribution includes Debian,Ubuntu,Linux mint, and so on, in its scope there are several well-known tools, one is the command line use of APT (advanced packaging tool), the other is a graphical interface of the Synaptic package manager, these two things are widely used, generally installed after the Ubuntu and so on can be used directly.

RPM

The package manager (RedHat Package Manager) created by RedHat, as its name implies, is used by the RedHat series Linux, including RedHat,Fedora,CentOS and so on. Several famous tools are also included under it, one is YUM and the other is DNF.

Pacman

This is another popular package manager, mainly used in Arch Linux and its distributions, including Arch Linux and Manjaro.

Of course, there are more than these package managers, but the main ones are the above, as well as Zypper on Portage,openSUSE on Gentoo and so on.

Desktop environment (DE) / window manager (WM)

Strong customization can be said to be a major feature of graphical Linux. Linux's desktop environment (or window manager) is numerous, but it no longer belongs to the category of choosing a distribution, but because each distribution has its own preferred desktop environment, it is also taken into consideration.

Desktop environments can be divided into lightweight and heavyweight.

Lightweight

XFCE

One of the most commonly used Linux desktop environments, because of its lightweight and configurable features, almost all distributions can simply install XFCE desktops. Manjaro is recommended to use XFCE by default.

XFCE Desktop

MATE

As another commonly used desktop, although it may not be as widely used as XFCE, there are still many people like it.

MATE Desktop

I3 (wm)

This is a classic tiled window manager, often regarded by some people as a productivity environment, through common keyboard shortcuts basically do not need a mouse, of course, productivity varies from person to person.

I3 Desktop

Awesome (wm)

It is also a tiled window manager, similar to i3, because the tiled desktop is not suitable for everyone, and there is a lot of controversy, so there seems to be no distribution to use it as the default desktop environment.

Awesome Desktop

Heavyweight

KDE plasma

One of the most famous desktop environments has strong customization and high fluency. Because it had a lot of bug before the KDE5 version, it was not favored once, but now it is one of the more excellent desktop environments. Desktop applications are developed using Qt. Kubuntu and so on use it as a desktop environment by default.

KDE Desktop

Gnome

Always on a par with KDE, known for its simplicity and efficiency, customizable is not as high as KDE, but it is also good. In the earlier version, there were memory overflows and single-threaded performance problems, so the fluency was lacking, and it was improved in the 3.30 version of * *. Desktop applications were developed using GTK.

Gnome Desktop

Unity

Desktop environments customized on ubuntu16 and previously based on Gnome have been replaced by Gnome since ubuntu17, which is no longer recommended, but seems to be more fluent than Gnome.

Unity Desktop

Budgie

* is characterized by simplicity, good-looking and elegance, high compatibility with Gnome tools, and few special features, derived from SoLus Linux.

Budgie Desktop

DDE

Deepin DE, which is a desktop environment applied on Deepin, Manjaro also has a DDE version. It is an excellent desktop environment made in China, which is better than many competitors in appearance.

DDE Desktop

Cinnamon

Linux mint's default desktop environment, based on Gnome3, is homologous with Gnome, and I won't introduce it much because I'm not familiar with it.

Cinnamon Desktop

Of course, there are many other desktop environments, but the above are the most common.

Stability / security

In fact, for people who really use Linux as a server or production environment, the above two points are nothing more than a little habit difference, because whether it is the package manager or the desktop environment, the features we provide are not irreplaceable, very often it is not a smooth problem, so the main impact at this time may be its stability.

Update mode

When it comes to the stability of Linux, it is inseparable from its software update mechanism. Generally speaking, there are two ways to update Linux, namely, rolling update and fixed version update.

Rolling update means that the system can keep its software in a state of * * at all times through frequent small updates. In this way, it often avoids the need to update the software version manually. Software vulnerabilities can also be repaired in time, and security is guaranteed, but at the same time, keeping any software in a * state means that their dependencies may have problems. Because a software developer may not be ready to match its dependent software, its dependent software is updated first. So rolling updates sometimes lack stability, resulting in the so-called "rolling" phenomenon. The default use of scrolling updates are Arch Linux,Manjaro and so on.

The release version of the fixed version update will generally deal with the dependency relationship between the software and then release the software, which will improve its stability to a certain extent, but it also has some problems. this update method makes it impossible for some software to get the * version in the official channel if you don't update the entire system to the * version. If there is a security vulnerability that sometimes cannot be fixed in time, it must be updated by downloading the compiler from a third-party address or manually. Of course, there are some solutions to the corresponding distributions, such as using Backports. Ubuntu,RHEL,SLES and so on are updated by default with a fixed version.

Kernel version

For the fixed version updated release, its kernel version also has certain restrictions on upgrading like the software. Generally speaking, the kernel version updates slowly and remains near the initial release version, and the kernel will not be greatly upgraded until the large version is updated. The new kernel will have some new features and can be compatible with newer hardware, but sometimes it will lead to compatibility problems. Many distributions of rolling updates have looser restrictions on the kernel. Of course, both of these can be manually updated or even manually compiled to replace the kernel, but using an unrecommended kernel version can cause some strange problems.

The relationship between upstream and downstream in Linux

The upstream and downstream relationship in the Linux release is the upstream and downstream relationship of various software packages. From a certain point of view, the upstream is the software package developer and the release that has a close relationship with the developer, while the downstream is the release that verifies the availability and stability of the software package and submits feedback. The software version of the upstream project is updated, while the downstream project is more stable. For example, Ubuntu is a typical downstream distribution.

Help documentation and community support

For almost all distributions, they have corresponding help documentation and corresponding communities, but their content is very different. Some distributions have help documentation in every detail, while others only teach you how to use it. Wiki pages like Arch Linux are typical of comprehensive and careful. You can check out Arch Wiki, while the community of Ubuntu is typical of active communities. You can check out the Ubuntu forum for details.

Major Linux distributions

To find major Linux distributions, you can refer to DistroWatch, where the ranking of page clicks can roughly reflect the activity of the distribution.

DistroWatch

Manjaro

A Linux distribution based on Arch Linux, which eliminates the trouble of Arch Linux configuration, but retains its advantages. Based on the rolling update mechanism, it provides very convenient kernel replacement software, and its support for Arch user software repository (AUR) is probably one of the most complete software repositories. It provides many versions of desktop environments, including KDE,Gnome,XFCE,MATE,DDE, and so on.

Manjaro

Linux Mint

Ubuntu/Debian-based systems, starting from 17.0, Mint is based on the long-term support version of Ubuntu, which is famous for its stability and ease of use, but the software updates are slow and sometimes not compatible with * hardware, providing official support for Cinnamon,MATE,KDE and XFCE desktop environments.

Linux Mint

Ubuntu

The famous Linux distribution, released by Canonical and also provides commercial support, has a good performance in terms of ease of use and stability. Ubuntu has changed its default desktop environment from Unity to Gnome since 17, and it has a third-party version of Kubuntu corresponding to KDE desktops. It includes long-term support version and * * version, both of which have different maintenance support cycles.

Ubuntu

Fedora Fedora

Is the version of Red Hat in the personal domain, because it is used as a test platform for Rad Hat, so the general software is very new, about half a year release cycle, the introduction of new technology is very fast.

Fedora

OpenSUSE

German craftsmanship, characterized by stable, clean and beautiful, not many users, commonly used in the server field.

OpenSUSE

Elementary OS

As you can tell from the name, this is a Linux distribution dedicated to appearance, it is based on Ubuntu plus a specific set of themes and applications developed from Linux, similar to Linux, but more focused on graphical interface applications.

Elementary OS

CentOS

This version comes from the open source code of Red Hat, because of this feature, it was widely respected for some time, and many textbooks also use it as an example, but for now, it is a more suitable Linux as a server system.

Cent OS

Deepin

Linux, the deep technology release, is, to some extent, the easiest to use, with almost no command line to complete most of its functions. It integrates a large number of self-developed software and approachable software stores, works with CrossOver to provide support for Windows software, and also supports native simulation Android software.

Deepin OS

The above is all the contents of this article entitled "how to choose a Linux Distribution". Thank you for reading! I believe we all have a certain understanding, hope to share the content to help you, if you want to learn more knowledge, welcome to follow the industry information channel!

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