Linux is an open-source computer operating system.
Open source means that the developer community can improve it to better versions and provide easy access to anyone. The Linux operating system currently powers more than half of the servers used on the internet. It also powers the operating system of most Android smartphones, currently.
The Linux kernel is the core of the Linux operating system. There are three major Linux distribution families: Debian, Fedora, and SUSE. From these major distributions, several other Linux distributions are developed.
The Fedora family is developed by diverse communities. It forms the foundation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (R.H.E.L.), Cent-OS, Scientific Linux, and Oracle Linux. Cent-OS has a longer release than most in the family, as it releases a new version every six months. It is used for demos, activities, and labs due to its availability to end users at no cost.
The Fedora distribution is the foundation for every distribution in the familylike Cent-OS, R.H.E.L., and Oracle Linux.
It can support hardware platforms such as x86, PowerPC, and I.B.M. systems.
R.H.E.L. is being used by most enterprises who tend to host their own systems.
R.H.E.L/Cent-OS 6.x operates with Linux kernel 2.6.32.
The S.U.S.E. family is characterized with the S.U.S.E. as upstream to the
S.U.S.E. is the foundation from which S.L.E.S. and open-SUSE stem; while S.L.E.S. is an upstream to open-SUSE.
Open-SUSE 12.3 operates with Linux kernel 3.11.
The S.U.S.E. family is mostly used in the retail sector.
The S.U.S.E. family makes use of Y.A.S.T. (yet another system tool) for its system administration purpose.
The Debian distribution is the foundation of Linux distribution like Ubuntu and Linux mint. It is mostly applied in servers and desktop computers. This distribution open-source operation makes available software repository for its users.
Debian distribution is the foundation to Ubuntu, while Ubuntu is upstream for Linux mint.
The Ubuntu 14.04 distribution operates on Linux kernel 3.13.
The Ubuntu distribution is greatly used in cloud deployment.
Linux-powered platforms have a general component on which they run. Identification of these components is needed for easy adaptation of any built project for the Linux distributions. The Linux Kernel serves as the core of every Linux distribution with the existing components therein. The components can be identified below.
Considering the Linux distribution components will enable applications to work effectively when developed for any of the Linux distributions.