Ubuntu and Linux Terms

If you ever browse the support forums for Ubuntu at ubuntuforums.org you might run across some terms that you do not recognize.  I decided that I will make a small list of terms here and explain them.  I won’t be able to catch every term you will ever hear in this one post, but I can at least start with this post and then add more posts later on that add to the list of terms.  Leave a comment if you have a question about a specific term you do not see here.  As always, Google is your friend also

Lucid or Maverick:
Ubuntu versions have names to them, much like the versions of Mac OS (leopard and panther – I don’t really know Macs…)  Each new version of Ubuntu that is released has a new version number and a corresponding name.  I have listed a few below:

• Feisty Fawn – Ubuntu 7.04
• Gutsy Gibbon – Ubuntu 7.10
• Hardy Heron – Ubuntu 8.04x
• Intrepid Ibex – Ubuntu 8.10
• Jaunty Jackalope – Ubuntu 9.04
• Karmic Koala – Ubuntu 9.10
• Lucid Lynx – Ubuntu 10.04x
• Maverick Meerkat (Alpha 1) – Ubuntu 10.10

Gnome and KDE:
These are the GUIs in Ubuntu.  Ubuntu is a “flavor” of Linux, which is a command line operating system, similar to MS-DOS.  Windows was originally created as a GUI – Graphical User Interface – to run on top of MS-DOS.  Similar to this, Gnome and KDE are 2 GUIs, or “X-environments” that run on top of the Linux command line OS.  Most native versions of Ubuntu come with Gnome if you install it with default settings.  Kubuntu is Ubuntu with the KDE environment instead of Gnome.

GRUB:
GNU GRUB is a Multiboot boot loader. It was derived from GRUB, the GRand Unified Bootloader, which was originally designed and implemented by Erich Stefan Boleyn.  Briefly, a boot loader is the first software program that runs when a computer starts. It is responsible for loading and transferring control to the operating system kernel software (such as the Hurd or Linux). The kernel, in turn, initializes the rest of the operating system (e.g. GNU).

GNU:
GNU was launched in 1984 to develop a complete Unix-like operating system which is free software— software which respects your freedom.

Unix-like operating systems are built from a collection of libraries, applications and developer tools — plus a program to allocate resources and talk to the hardware, known as a kernel.

Hurd, GNU’s kernel is actively developed, but is still some way from being ready for daily use, so GNU is often used with a kernel called Linux.  The combination of GNU and Linux is the GNU/Linux operating system, now used by millions and sometimes called simply ‘Linux’.