The Truth About Linux Distros: They Are More Than Just a Pretty Interface

I constantly come across new articles online claiming that this or that Linux distro is the killer distro. However, most of these articles only describe the distros GUI and how great it is to work with, and thats about it. Theres no mention of the file system, memory management, or any changes to the kernel. Is this really helpful for newcomers?

Articles like these make Linux beginners believe that a particular distro is better just because it’s easier for Windows users, or that another distro is made for hacking simply because it comes with dozens of preinstalled tools. But they never mention that Linux is a stack of interconnected, ordered components.

In a few words, a Distro is composed of:

Kernel, drivers, shell, and command line tools

The kernel is the component that communicates directly with the hardware through device drivers. For example, if you need a game controller, the kernel will require a specific device driver to interact with it and properly interpret the movements of your character in the game. Or lets say you have both USB and Bluetooth keyboards. The kernel will need USB and Bluetooth device drivers to work with your keyboards.

Command line tools are small pieces of software developed to perform very specific tasks. For instance:

• ls will list files in a directory
• cp will copy files from a directory to another
• rm will erase files
• file will inform the type of a given file

These are just a few examples of the many command line tools available in a Linux system. Note that no graphical user interface (GUI) is needed here.

The shell is a key component here. It is also known as the Command Line Interface (CLI) and is responsible for accepting your typed commands.

In the example above, the instruction will display the quoted text, solve the arithmetic equation (1+1), and present the result. In other words, you gave instructions to the kernel through the shell. Usually, the default shell is Bash, but you can easily switch it to many other options. A very popular alternative is Zsh, which offers a more customizable and feature-rich text interface:

The Graphical Server: XFree86, X.org, and Wayland

If you plan to work with Linux, we could stop here. However, tasks like editing images or writing formatted text with tables and charts would become a tough challenge — though not impossible.

To use a graphical user interface (GUI) on Linux, you need a graphical server. In the 1990s, XFree86 was the default graphical server for Linux. Later, X.org replaced XFree86 in most Linux distributions. More recently, Wayland has offered a more efficient solution, but it is still not widely adopted.

The graphical server translates graphical functions into kernel instructions, similar to how the shell works, as we discussed earlier. On top of that, another layer is added: the Window Manager. It controls the behavior of windows, including resizing, minimizing, maximizing, managing control buttons, handling overlapping, and more.

Popular Desktop Environments in Linux

Now that you have the core components set up on your Linux system, you can install all the graphic tools you need (such as OBS, GIMP, LibreOffice, web browsers, games, and many others). However, popular Linux distributions go a step further by installing Desktop Environments, offering a comfortable and flexible user experience.

Desktop Environments are not mandatory, but they provide a wide range of useful tools out-of-the-box, such as screen capture utilities, audio tools, music players, PDF viewers, office software (word processors, spreadsheets, presentation creators, etc.), storage management, and their own Window Management. Here are some of the most popular Desktop Environments:

• KDE Plasma
• GNOME
• XFCE
• Cinnamon
• MATE

Wrapping up: A Deeper Look into Linux

In conclusion, while the graphical user interface (GUI) is an important part of many Linux distributions, its only a small piece of the larger puzzle. Understanding the underlying components — from the kernel and shell to the graphical server and desktop environment — can provide a much deeper appreciation for how Linux functions and offer greater flexibility for customization and troubleshooting.

For beginners, its easy to get distracted by the shiny interface of a particular distribution, but its essential to remember that Linux is more than just what you see on the screen. Its a robust system that can be tailored to fit your needs, whether youre using it for basic tasks or exploring its more technical capabilities.

So, take the time to explore the full stack, and youll soon realize that Linux is not just about what you see, but about how it works and how you can make it work for you.