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this post was submitted on 09 Apr 2024
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Linux
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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To summarize: the major difference is that Arch Linux gives you the latest versions of all programs and packages. You can update anytime, and you'll get the latest versions every time for all programs
Debian follows a stable release model. Suppose you install debian 12 (bookworm). The software versions there are locked, and they're usually not the latest versions. For example, the Linux kernel there is version 6.1, whereas the latest is like 6,9 or something. Neovim is version 0.7, whereas the latest is 0.9. Those versions will remain this way, unless you update to, say, debian 13 whenever it comes out. But if you do your regular system updates, it will only do security updates (which do not change the behavior of a program).
You might wonder, why is the debian approach good? Stability. Software updates = changes. Changes could mean your setup that was previously working, suddenly isn't, because now the program changed behavior. Debian tries to avoid that by locking all versions, and making sure they are fully compatible. It also ensures that by doing this, you don't miss out on security updates.