this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2024
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Linux

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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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Example: Fedora Rawhide, Ubuntu Latest, Debian Stable

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[–] OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 27 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (3 children)

Holy smokes people are mad at this thread. I genuinely don't know why. It's a valid and good question to have.

Here's something to get started, although I don't use any of these so take it with a grain of salt:

  1. Fedora LTS: Approximately 6 months.
  2. openSUSE Leap: Approximately 8 months
  3. Linux Mint LTS: 2 years
  4. Ubuntu LTS: 2 years
  5. Debian: Approximately 2-3 years
  6. RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux): Approximately 3-5 years.
  7. SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE): Approximately 3-5 years
[–] HumanPerson@sh.itjust.works 12 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Damn, federation is crazy. Over here you're the only comment lol.

[–] Pika@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 months ago

If you open up the host instance, you'll only see one other commenter anyway so I think they are down voting due to it seeming like a demand, but since no one's messaging why I'm just guessing

[–] TootSweet@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

Here too. Weird.

[–] biribiri11@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I think it’d also be good to document:

Alpine and NixOS: both 6 months

Minor releases of RHEL: 6 months

Non LTS Ubuntu: 6 months

The question also brings up Fedora rawhide. Fedora rawhide never has releases, though its version is always the current latest branched release (not necessarily stable/beta/alpha) + 1.

Since the pace of development was also brought up:

Fedora Rawhide and ELN (same package set) -> Fedora Stable after ~2-3 months of being “stabilized” (this stabilization period has periodic “freezes” which is why bad versions of XZ never made it into Fedora 40’s beta)

Fedora Rawhide and ELN (same package set) -> CentOS Stream (currently unclear how long it takes to go from branched to full release, though it was branched months ago from ELN) -> RHEL every 6 months

AlmaLinux releases are tagged from CentOS stream every 6 months, and patched with security updates. When a new version releases, the current minor release is immediately EOL’d, unlike RHEL. Rocky is the same. Both have extra support services from third parties. RHEL offers EUS releases for every other minor release (as of RHEL 9).

It’s a common misconception that Fedora stable releases become CentOS Stream releases. This pattern was true pre-CentOS stream, but now, for the most part, CentOS Stream and Fedora stable might share a few patches at most, but their development timelines are different. They branch directly off the rolling Fedora Rawhide/ELN trunk.

Debian unstable -> Debian testing (auto-promoted after 2 weeks iirc) -> Ubuntu stable or Debian stable

[–] thingsiplay@beehaw.org 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Nobody is mad at this thread. My reply has valid points and is trying to help the guy asking this question. The question can't be answered in a straightforward manner as he wants it to be. Therefore I recommend him to specify some things, so we can help him better find the right distribution.

I recommend to learn what a rolling release, a LTS, the difference between stable and unstable are. In example LTS means holding back lot of packages, but the minor or security updates might be quick. Feature updates are often slower, but that does not mean the updates on the distribution are slow. Let's take distributions with KDE in example. Some are still on version 5, because of LTS, but the updates might be quick. Others might have a newer version of KDE 6, but the updates itself might be often lagging behind official releases, because they have to make lot of changes.

Therefore its important to specify what he wants to find, so we can help him better. Not mad, just trying to help. Don't make this awkward.

[–] lemann@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 4 months ago

IIRC Beehaw doesn't federate downvotes. The OP has been pretty heavily downvoted for no valid reason

[–] thingsiplay@beehaw.org 3 points 4 months ago

Such a list makes no sense. What do you try to find out, its better to ask in a normal way instead like asking ChatGPT question phrases. What is your goal? Does it include Gaming in example? You should learn what stable vs unstable means, what LTS stands for and what a rolling release is. Some distributions follow a fixed release cycle, but that does not mean they update everything in the system. So is it slow or fast? There are so much nuances to this. Maybe this list helps you: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Linux_distributions

[–] DaTingGoBrrr@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 months ago

Does this list include rolling release distros like Arch? Because I can see no mention of it

[–] kenkenken@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 months ago

Not true about Rawhide. It's a testing environment for maintainers and developers. And it often has many outdated packages.