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Understanding Kernel, Distros and File Systems of Linux

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I hope many of you are familiar with the term "Linux". But my question is what is Linux?

Some of you will say Linux is an OS while some of you will say Linux is a kernel.

Actually, Linux is a kernel and not an OS. So, first, let's understand what a kernel is. Then the difference between OS and kernel.

Kernel

A kernel is one of the system software in Operating Systems which acts as a bridge between applications and hardware components.

Operating System vs Kernel

  • The operating system is a bridge between user and hardware while Kernel is a bridge between applications and hardware.
  • An operating system is a system software while Kernel is a software which is a part of the OS.
  • All operating systems need a kernel to run.
  • When you boot the computer, OS is the first program that loads while the kernel is the first program that loads when OS loads.
  • Example of the kernel: Linux 
  • Examples of OS: Ubuntu, Fedora, Kali

Linux Distributions


Linux Distributions or Linux Distros are the operating systems that include the Linux kernel. Linus Torvalds developed the Linux kernel and released its first version 0.01 in August 1991. The earliest distro was MCC Interim Linux released in February 1992. There are almost one thousand Linux distros.
There are some famous distros such as Debian, Slackware, RedHat and Arch Linux.
Some famous distros like Ubuntu, Kali and Parrot are Debian based Linux distros. For a more detailed understanding of Linux distros, watch the image in the link below.

 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Linux_Distribution_Timeline_21_10_2021.svg

From each distro, multiple distros were created based on it like based on RedHat, CentOS was created. Based on Debian, Ubuntu was created. Based on Ubuntu, distros like Ubuntu GNOME, Kubuntu, and Gobuntu were created.

File Systems

  • /   - It is a root directory.

  • /bin - This is where the executable files are located.

  • /dev - These are device drivers

  • /etc -  The configuration files of BIOS and other similar files can be found in /etc. 

  • /lib - Contains shared library files and sometimes other kernel-related files.
  • /boot - Contains files for booting the system.


  •  /home - Contains home directory for users

  • /mnt - Used for mounting temporary file systems.
  • /proc - Contains all processes as a file by process number.


  • /tmp - Contains temporary files.

  • /usr - The /usr directory is used to contain applications and files that are used and shared by and between users.

  • /var - The /var directory is used like the /usr directory, only instead of being read-only, it is writable. This directory contains system logs and other various variable data.

  • /sbin - Contains executable files, usually for system administration.


  • /media - Contains subdirectories where your physical media devices are mounted. For example, a CD, if inserted into your system, you can access its contents through its directory that is created in the /media directory upon insertion.


I hope you might have got a clear understanding of Kernel, Distros and the file system of Linux. Happy reading!
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