I've seen many people here ask what a distro is or what KDE is many times. Hopefully this topic will clear those questions up. The words are categorized.

Beginner Linux Vocabulary

Distro - Short for Distribution, a distro is a set of programs combined with the linux kernel to create an operating system.

Kernel - The core of Linux. The kernel is what controls the hardware and is what every linux distro is built upon. The latest kernel to the date of this writing is 2.6.11. Using the term Linux refers to the kernel, not an operating system as Linux is not an operating system but the kernel per se. Linux is typically misused in this manner.

Bash - Bourne Again Shell is a command line in Linux. This is where most of the linux work is done like installing programs and configuring the system. If a Linux Distro didnt come installed with a GUI, it will typically boot into this.

Root - The ruler of all Linux systems. This is a user that you have access to that can do anything to a linux system. It is highly reccomended that you don't use root as it can damage a system if used incorrectly.

Linus Torvalds - The one who wrote the linux kernel in 1991.

Sudo - Stands for Super User DO, allows a user to have root access without logging in as root.

Software Vocabulary

Compile - Installing an application from it's source code. Another name for this word is build.

Source - The actual code that a program is coded in.

Binary - Usually a program or package that is encoded in binary(the 0's and the 1's), another term for this is machine language.

Package - A piece of Software like gtfp.

Dependency - A package that a package depends upon to work.


Package Manager Vocabulary

apt - Debian linux's packaging system. Apt uses .deb files. Apt is most popular for it's extension, apt-get(see below)

apt-get - An extension of Debian's apt package manager. Apt-get employs the search and get method found in todays package managers

Portage - Gentoo Linux's packaging system. Portage is more powerful for it's ability to customize it in so many ways for almost any need. Alot of users pick Gentoo just for Portage. Portage compiles programs by source.

YaST - Yet Another Setup Tool is SuSE's front end to it's package manager. YaST is also used to manage the settings and aspects of the system.

RPM - Redhat Package Manager is among the widely used package manager. Originally created by Redhat, it's now used by a handful of Linux Distributions including but not limited to Fedora, Mandriva, SUSE and more.

Pacman - Arch Linux's Package Manager. Allows a user to install apps with 1 command from the terminal. Name has no meaning

Ports - A BSD package manager for which was Portage(see above) is based off of. Installs software from source.

Yum - Yellow dog Updater, Modified. Yum is a package management utility used by several distributions including Fedora for RPM and centOS.


Graphical User Interface Vocabulary

Desktop Environment - DE for short, are numerous applications bundled together in a packge to provide the user with a nice working environment to use the computer. Typically comes with Window Manager(see below). The 2 most popular DE's are KDE and GNOME.

Window Manager - A program that draws Windows to the screen but does not come with any applications or such, typcially bundled in DE's(see above). A popular one is Metacity for GNOME.

XOrg/Xfree86 - Xorg/Xfree86 are programs that give Linux the ability to have GUI. These are I repeat NOT Desktop Environments or Window Managers! Every program with a GUI requires 1 of these 2 programs to run.

KDE - K Desktop Environment is an environment that lets users browse the net, use apps, and such. Many users of KDE feel it has a Windows feel to it. For more info on KDE visit http://kde.org

Gnome - GNU Object Model Environment is environment like KDE but is more professional looking and doesn't go for all the eyecandy KDE has. For more info on Gnome vist http://gnome.org

XFCE - A Desktop Environment based off of GTK and GNOME, mucher lighter compared to KDE and GNOME, good for older systems.

Fluxbox - A window manager aiming to be lightweight. Fluxbox features a minimal but customizable GUI. Fluxbox is usually favored for older systems that cant handle KDE and GNOME. Fluxbox is currently used in Damn Small Linux.

Compbiz/Beryl - A Window manager that gives a desktop environment several special effects just as wiggling windows and transparencies and more. Compiz/Beryl are fairly new.


Bootloader Vocabulary

Bootloader - A bootloader is a app that typically resides in your MBR(Master Boot Record). It allows you to select what os to boot on startup.

Master Boot Record - The Master Boot Record or MBR is the 1st few MB on your hard drive. It typically tells what the hard drive should boot aka Linux or Windows. Most times when using Linux a Bootloader resides here.

Grub - GRand Unified Bootloader is a bootloader that allows you to set boot options and additional features at startup. This is the most popular bootloader.

LILO - Linux Loader is a generic bootloader. It's feature limited when compared to Grub. The most popular distro use LILO by default is Slackware.


Advanced Linux Vocabulary

Toolkit - A set of tools usually used to compile programs or make them.

GTK - A toolkit for X11 for creating GUI's. Used by GNOME, XFCE and many other Desktop Envirments and Apps.

QT Toolkit - A toolkit for X11 for creating GUI's, rivals GTK. Used by KDE and many other DE's + Apps.

Xorgconfig - A utility bundled in X11 that allows a user to configure X11. Usually done from the terminal.

dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg/xfree86 - Debian doesnt use Xorgconfig per se but uses a different configuration utility for the Window System. This utility does the same as Xorgconfig pretty much.



I will update this frequently.

EDIT: Seperated LILO and Grub and added Bootloader.
EDIT 6/10: Added MBR, Root and Source.
EDIT: 8/14: More descriptions of package managers, added YaST
EDIT: 6/2: Modifyed some sentences, added Binary, sudo, xorgconfig, xfce, gtk, qt
EDIT: 6/3: Categorized the words, added Pacman, ports, Desktop Envirment, Window Manager
EDIT: 11/7: Added links to KDE and Gnome.
EDIT: 1/23: Seperated Apt-get and apt, added fluxbox, rpm, yum and dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg/xfree86, also changed YaST definitions.
EDIT: 4/5: Added Toolkit, Compbiz/Beryl, fixed some spelling errors and reworded some definitions.

Pinned and added [FAQ] to title. (also some spelling corrections)

Good info for those new to Linux.

My spelling must be going.

And environment is still spelled incorrectly

Linux'ers.. you damn hackers.

I fixed some of the grammer.

Quite lucid, thanks.

Hey nice, thanks for the guide.

good idea

Nice, can say i learnt a bit more of linux today

Great work! And here's the obvious nitpicking ;-) :

- Linus Torvalds _started_ the Linux kernel (it was originally called 'Freax', some Usenet admin renamed the folder containing the first release to 'Linux' to honor Linus' work). Many more people work on Linux today, but Linus still is the leader (together with Andrew Morton for Linux 2.6.x)

- It's debatable if Gnome really looks more professional than KDE. I would remove that. They obviously look different, but it's up to the user to decide which one's more professional. Why not provide links to their sites, so that the users decide for themselves?

- The X11 server, based on a common standard by the X Consortium/ The Open Group (X version 11, release 6 right now), has many implementations - next to XFree86 and Xorg, there are, eg, Exceed, Metro X, KDrive, TinyX. It provides a network-transparent, standardized way to draw graphics to the screen, but the only thing about X11 the user usually sees is the black and white pattern when X starts, before the windowmanager is started. The icons and everything get drawn by the desktop environment. BTW, the ugly black and white pattern is there on purpose: A solid color would make it impossible for some monitors to auto-adjust after the resolution changed.

grammAr <----Or at least it is in England.
Thanks for this, I only installed Linux today and this has helped alot.

I revived this by modifiying it a bit.

Thanks for the guide.

Did a major update, categorized the words and added 2 more.

Linux Vocab v. 1a

Thanks!

Barney

You could add something about RPM under "Package Manager Vocabulary", because RPM is used in some very popular distributions (Fedora, SUSE...).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RPM_Package_Manager
I found this FAQ very useful, thank you a lot

Fairly short definitions and in some cases not all that descriptive...

For example, source...source is a human readable language (such as C, Python, Perl, PHP, and Java) that the programmer uses to write the program and it is then compiled or interpreted and then run.

And for KDE, it is a full desktop environment which includes many programs along with the window manager to add usability out of the box.

GNOME goes for a lighter desktop environment and the developers only put what they feel is necessary and go through cleanup cycles every so often to remove what they deem unnecessary. And actually KDE is about to do some cleaning up too (although not as big as GNOME does).

I think some links would help as well.

Links to offical websites (maybe even links to some pictures).

I quietly updated this a month or 2 back. Any more suggestions?

If you really want to make it accurate take the following into consideration; they're just things that jumped out at me. I don't mean to sound cheeky, just pointing it all out.

It's apt, not apt-get. You also mention YaST as SuSE's package manager, when it uses RPM. YaST, as far as I know is just a front end, much like Syanaptic is for apt, but correct me if I'm wrong.
Where is rpm?
Where is yum?
Where is fluxbox?
It's spelled environment.
Xorgconfig, as I can imagine, is used in more advanced distros, however in Debian and its derivatives dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg/xfree86 is used and they're not really programs, but more implementations of the X window system.
Linux, is not the OS. Sure, it's been deemed as it by the media and what not but if you want to get technical GNU is the OS and Linux is the kernel. RMS wrote GNU and needed a kernel. He began development of Hurd and it was a little harder than he thought and couldn't get it to do certain things that he wanted. He came across Linus' kernel and implemented it, however he still to this day is actively working on the Hurd kernel and certain distributions, such as Debian, allow you to use the Hurd kernel over Linus'.

Thanks. I modified it a bit to what you said.

Did a couple updattes, added toolkit,, compbiz/beryl.

It can also just be a library or development files

Any suggestions for updates?