Linux distribution: Difference between revisions

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Widely used GNU-based or GNU-compatible distributions: Fixing #wikilink for SUSE Linux Enterprise #Linux #Computing #VulcanSphere
Statistics: Updated Statecounter stats.
 
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Early distributions included:
* Torvalds' "''Boot-Root''" images, later maintained by Jim Winstead Jr., the aforementioned disk image pair with the kernel and the absolute minimal tools to get started (4 November 1991)<ref>[https://www.kclug.org/old_archives/linux-activists/1991/dec/1/0002.shtml linux-0.11 available]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/Historic/old-versions/RELNOTES-0.95a|title=RELNOTES-0.95a}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/nico/archive.git/commit/?id=be068f1a017608faa9b4a0652686426df2e87689|title=kernel/git/nico/archive.git - Archive of old Linux versions since v0.01|website=git.kernel.org}}</ref><ref name="ovoFu">{{Cite web|last1=Klemmer |first1=Joe |url=https://lwn.net/Articles/91371/|title=A Short History of Linux Distributions [LWN.net]|website=lwn.net|date=June 30, 2004 |access-date=2018-09-30|archive-date=June 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623113052/https://lwn.net/Articles/91371/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[MCC Interim Linux]] (3 March 1992)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tech-insider.org/linux/research/1992/0225-b.html|title=interim release|website=www.tech-insider.org}}</ref>
* [[Softlanding Linux System]] (SLS) which included the X Window System and was the most comprehensive distribution for a short time (15 August 1992)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tech-insider.org/linux/research/1992/0812.html|title=SLS: Free Linux Distribution|website=www.tech-insider.org}}</ref>
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==Interdistribution issues==
The [[Free Standards Group]] was an organization formed by major software and hardware vendors that aims to improve interoperability between different distributions. Among their proposed standards are the [[Linux Standard Base]], which defines a common [[Application binary interface|ABI]] and packaging system for Linux, and the [[Filesystem Hierarchy Standard]] which recommends a standard filenaming chart, notably the basic directory names found on the root of the tree of any Linux filesystem. Those standards, however, see limited use, even among the distributions developed by members of the organization.<ref>{{CitationCite web needed|title=The Free Standards Group (FSG): purpose, workgroups (LSB, OpenI18N, LANANA, DWARF, etc.), members |url=https://www.linfo.org/free_standards_group.html#:~:text=All%20standards%20developed%20by%20the,under%20contract%20with%20the%20FSG. |access-date=June2025-08-18 2014|website=www.linfo.org}}</ref>
 
The diversity of Linux distributions means that not all software runs on all distributions, depending on what libraries and other system attributes are required. [[Linux package formats|Packaged software]] and software repositories are usually specific to a particular distribution, though cross-installation is sometimes possible on closely related distributions.<ref>{{CitationCite web needed|date=June2023-01-04 2014|title=The best Linux distributions (operating systems) |url=https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/server/configuration/linux-distributions/ |access-date=2025-08-18 |website=IONOS Digital Guide |language=en-gb}}</ref>
 
==Installation==
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Desktop usage statistical reports for particular Linux distributions have been collected and published since July 2014<ref name="y9sXd">{{cite web|author=A. Ponomarenko|title=Linux Hardware Trends|url=https://linux-hardware.org/?view=trends|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920064241/https://github.com/linuxhw/Trends|archive-date=September 20, 2020|access-date=11 March 2020}}</ref> by the Linux Hardware Project.
 
[[Statcounter]], a web traffic analysis company, within the ''operating system market share'', showed that the Linux operating systems had, according to them, 13.449% of the worldwide [[market share]] in MayJuly 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=Operating system market share worldwide |url=https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share /desktop/worldwide?ref=itsfoss.com|access-date=2721 JuneAugust 2025 |website=Statcounter}}</ref>
 
==See also==