Distribution: what is it? Examples of OS distributions and programs

The article describes what a distribution is, what they are, what they can be called, and what not, and where this concept came from.

What it is?

The concept of "distribution" has entered our life relatively recently, around the time of the growth of the popularity of free operating systems of the Linux family. Distributions of the system were then mainly distributed on CD-blanks, because the speed of Internet access did not allow downloading ISO-images from the Web. Over time, the name spread to other products. Now almost everywhere you can hear the word "distribution". What it is? It is in this we will try to understand this material.

Start using the word "distribution"

This concept came to us from the environment of users and developers of free operating systems. By distribution they called the compiled image containing the kernel, the main programs, the shell of the working environment and in general everything that was needed to install a workable system. Now this concept is used to refer to any software product written to disk or elsewhere.

In general, this term assumes the existence of a minimum set of programs to ensure the operation of the operating system at the initial stages. This definition of the concept is not suitable for such phrases as "game distribution". What is this distribution if it does not have an operating system as such? In this case it's just a computer game on a physical medium or compiled for downloading over the Web and installing without a disk. This is especially true now, when this method is becoming more popular. It got to the point that sometimes, when you build a new computer, there's simply no diskette in it.

With the development of the Internet, distributions began to be called ISO-images. They can be downloaded from the official site and written to a disk or USB-drive. With this bootable media, you can install the operating system on any computer.

Linux distributions

Since this concept came to us from the world of free OS, we first consider Linux distributions. Their full, full. All of them have their own "chips". But they are similar in one. In all Linux distributions there is a full set of drivers and applications necessary for work. And not one of them is not necessary to pay. That's what this distribution means. What are these software products? Mostly these are Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Debian. All of them are based on Debian, therefore they are fully compatible with each other.

Distributions of such "Linux-like" systems, like AltLinux, ArchLinux, CentOS and Fedora, can not boast such compatibility with computer hardware. For them it is necessary to download additional drivers. But they also have a basic set of necessary applications.

Windows distributions

Strictly speaking, the installation disks of the Windows operating system are difficult to call distributions. After all, this concept assumes the availability of drivers "out of the box" and a set of applications for the full operation of the system.

True, with the release of the "dozens" the situation changed somewhat. Now the Windows distribution contains a number of drivers necessary for the normal operation of the system. But still have to download programs for the video card. With applications, everything is bad. They can not ensure the normal operation of the system. Although Windows 10 and took much from Linux (terminal, alternative desktops), but it is still far from the proud name of the "distribution".

The main advantage of Windows OS is compatibility with all computers and devices. If desired, it can be installed on computers from Apple. But I do not want to spoil the perfect "apple" computers by a fake from Microsoft.

MacOS distribution

Since MacOS is a "unix-like" system, it could not be considered, but without it, the review would be incomplete. Like all operating systems, "Makos" has its own distribution. What is it in this case?

It should be noted that MacOS is produced only for Apple products. And their support in the OS is implemented in the best way. Drivers for all devices are installed without problems, and there are so many applications that it is possible to not add third-party ones. As always, Apple is on top. The image of the system from the "Yabloko" is definitely called a distribution kit.

If you use some specialized programs, then the MacOS distribution can be made to work on ordinary computers. True, it is very desirable to have a processor from Intel from the Core series. It is with these processors that the best performance of MacOS on "third-party" computers is observed.

Program distributions

Now let's talk about what can not be called a distribution kit - about disks with software. Many are accustomed to call the carrier with a particular program (for example, 1C distribution). This is fundamentally wrong. Mainly because there is no operating system on the disk.

Very often, a distribution is called a collection of programs for a particular system. There is a deal of truth in it. Such a collection of programs and applications is quite possible to call a distribution.

Some software products have their own additional distributions. For example, databases or sets of samples.

Conclusion

So here we have a brief "educational program" on the topic "distribution". What is it - we finally figured out. Now you know what their types are and what can be called a distribution. Of course, in our time the scope of this concept is somewhat blurred and now this word is called everything in a row. But thanks to our article, you now know what you can rightfully define as a distribution.