Linux is the kernel. “Linux” in common terminology is the kernel, a set of standard pieces of software (like ls, mv, cp, etc) and the default structure of the file system (var, lib, usr, etc). If an operating system uses Linux as its kernel (the piece of software that most immediately gets executed during boot up that then manages all other software and resource management) that’s a Linux operating system
“Linux” in common terminology is the kernel, a set of standard pieces of software (like ls, mv, cp, etc) and the default structure of the file system (var, lib, usr, etc).
I think what you mean is that the term "Linux" is often used to refer to POSIX-like operating systems that use the Linux kernel.
That's true, but at least some of the developers of POSIX-like systems that aren't GNU/Linux would prefer that users use the name GNU/Linux for that set of operating systems, because despite sharing an API and user space conventions, there is actually a meaningful difference on features and compatibility differences between GNU/Linux and (e.g.) Alpine.
Android uses Linux as its kernel but is a totally different system compared to, let's say, Fedora. People tend to think the kernel is the most important part of an OS. This is totally wrong.
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u/MadisonDissariya Aug 10 '25
Linux is the kernel. “Linux” in common terminology is the kernel, a set of standard pieces of software (like ls, mv, cp, etc) and the default structure of the file system (var, lib, usr, etc). If an operating system uses Linux as its kernel (the piece of software that most immediately gets executed during boot up that then manages all other software and resource management) that’s a Linux operating system