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It just so happens that even on Habré many people have a very vague idea of ​​the OS Linux family.

The purpose of this article is to tell in the most popular language about the features and differences between Linux and Windows for those who have not dealt with it at all.

I’ve been freely using Archlinux for more than one year now, downloading Windows just “to play around”. This article talks about things that I found out empirically, poking around like a blind kitten. If at one time I would have come across exactly this information in exactly this form, it would have saved me at least 2 years, during which I switched from Windows to Linux.

The cornerstone principle of working with Linux systems is “From understanding to action,” while in Windows it’s “I know where to click/where to put a tick, I do it.” In other words, in order to do something, you need to understand how it works there, inside.

Thesis No. 1 – YOU MUST be proficient in working with the system from a text console!

“Pure” Linux (base system) in any distribution looks like DOS - black screen, text mode, blinking cursor awaiting input. When you encounter this for the first time, you sit and think: “Damn, what should I write?”

Modern user-friendly distributions give the illusion that the user does not need a console. Good guys, they say, have already taken care of everything. Here's a wallpaper in FullHD resolution, here's a program for setting parameters - just check the boxes, everything is like in Windows... To avoid unnecessary holivars, I'll make a digression at this point.

There are Linux users for whom nothing ever goes wrong. Ubuntu is updated from one major version to another, starting with Ubuntu 1.0, and so on. Guys, don’t write anything in the comments about the uselessness of the console for the user, go and admire the rainbow that pink ponies poop in your world.

In my world, Linux glitches and breaks. No, everything is quite okay if you just launch programs and use them. But then suddenly the moment comes when you desperately need to, say, change open-source firewood to proprietary ones... or simply update the system. And here, if the stars align poorly, you get a broken system and a text console as the only method of interacting with it. And (the worst part) - this kind of garbage tends to happen regularly.

My experience suggests that at such moments the Windows user acts as he is used to, obeying the usual ideology. First there is an attempt to “fix”. Windows ideology dictates that you find a discussion of a similar problem and its solution on the Internet, after which repeat all actions that led to solving the problem. The result is that the user mindlessly types in commands that he does not understand. Sometimes this even helps, more often it doesn’t: the contents of the commands need to be modified to suit specific conditions and a specific local machine, but there is no knowledge for this. As a result, the next logical step is to reinstall the system. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about - I broke and reinstalled Ubuntu more than 10 times... about a third of which were after the spontaneous death of the system during the update process, without correlation with the curvature of the hands.

Studying the structure of the system and working with it from the console is akin to the famous “lose a day - fly in an hour.” Fixing the problem in this case is much faster than reinstalling, not to mention the fact that it becomes much easier not to break it :) In addition, the difference completely disappears - you are sitting at the computer locally or through a remote SSH session. Believe me, this feeling is worth a lot.

Thesis No. 2: user-friendly distributions are not suitable for studying the system.

Developers of such distributions diligently create an interface graphic layer designed to reduce the interaction between the user and the system to mindless mouse clicks. Technically, this layer can be an absolutely enchanting pile of crutches - in bash, python, perl... absolute hell for a beginner trying to understand the logic of the system. In addition, sane documentation (if it exists at all) is lost among forum posts like “to get A, enter B in the console, and in the settings press button C”

Technically minimalistic distributions with high-quality and detailed documentation are best suited for learning. These, for example, are Gentoo and Archlinux. Personally, I recommend the latter - simply because it worked for me. After a couple of years of ordeals with Ubuntu, just a couple of months with Arch advanced me in understanding Linux 10 times further.

There are several reasons:

  1. The technical minimalism of the system greatly facilitates its understanding.
  2. High-quality, detailed documentation facilitates the learning process.
  3. Getting out of the “graphical comfort zone” is very helpful!

The last point is especially worth noting. Ubuntu with its graphical interface does not add any motivation to poke around in the console. Another thing is when initially there is only a console and a strong motivation to “set up this graphical interface” - there is simply nowhere to go, you have to master the documentation and acquire knowledge.

Windows and Linux: fundamental differences

1. File system

  • In Linux, logical disk volumes are not assigned letters. Instead, one of them is designated as the root, and the rest are connected to the specified folders within it. All paths start with a slash, without any C drives:
  • All system files are dumped in the root file system, and are divided into directories by type/purpose. Relatively speaking, all settings are located in /etc, executable files in /bin and /usr/bin - and all this goodness regular user(not an administrator) has only read/execute access, and not always (when it comes to system services)
  • File extensions in Linux are completely optional. Whether a file is executable is determined by a special mark - similar to the “hidden” or “archived” mark in Windows. Executable files without an extension are the norm in Linux!
  • In Linux there is no special mark indicating that a file is hidden. Instead, names with a dot at the beginning are used, and file managers allow you to disable the display of such files. That is, the /home/user/.bashrc file is hidden. The dot in this case is part of the file name!
  • A standard user only has full access to their personal folder, which is usually located in /home/%username%. By analogy with drive D: in Windows, a separate disk partition is often connected to the /home folder. Thus, all user data is located on a separate partition (or even a physical hard drive).
  • All user (not system) programs, if they need to save some of their data or settings, do this only in the home folder of the user from whom they are running - simply because only in it they have the right to write.
  • The very concept of “file” in Linux is slightly different, broader. There is a so-called “device files”. For example, /dev/sda is usually hard drive(although it could be a flash drive), and /dev/sda1 is the first section of this hard drive. From here such tricky maneuvers as dd if=/dev/sda1 of=/home/user/backup are possible - the command will copy the entire first partition of the /dev/sda disk, byte by byte, to the backup file in the user’s home directory. There is a so-called “symbolic links” - in the file manager they look like a regular file, in fact they link to another file, and do not take up disk space. That is, there may be one executable file and a bunch of symbolic links to it in different places.

2. Package manager and the concept of “package”, installation of programs.

  • Programs can only be installed using an administrator account. During installation, all files related to the program (for example, Firefox) are “smeared” across the root file system - settings common to all users will go to /etc, executable files to /usr/bin, and icons and various resources such as graphics and sounds - to /usr/share/firefox. In this situation, the user, in principle, cannot know where he has what exactly is located. The package manager is responsible for this. For example, the Firefox package includes a bunch of files. When installing a package, the package manager will arrange them across the file system, and when uninstalling them, it will delete them accordingly.
  • One more important function package manager - satisfying package dependencies. For example, Firefox requires the libjpeg library to work. This means that during installation, the package manager will automatically install the libjpeg package, and when uninstalling, it will remove it if it is not required by any other package.
  • A package manager usually has a database of all available packages, and it has a means of searching that database. Therefore, installing programs on Linux is incredibly simple - with the first command we search for keywords According to the database, the exact name of the package, the second one is installed. There is no need to go to websites, search and download anything. If I need to install Skype in Archa, I dial pacman -S skype and press ENTER, and a minute later I have Skype installed. I need Firefox - I’m writing pacman -S firefox. And so on. In another distribution, the command and syntax will be different, you may need to specify the repository address - the principle itself is unchanged.
  • Never, never even try to download and run anything through a browser, like in Windows! Only if you fully know what you are doing - but then why are you reading all this?) Downloading and running a file is part of a completely alien (even hostile) ideology for Linux. Programs must be installed through a package manager. Dot.
  • Never use the “configure && make && make install” method to install a program. Every time this happens, a dozen innocent kittens die a painful death around the world. This set of commands will assemble a program from source code, and then scatter its files throughout the file system without the knowledge of the package manager. This is a violation of the normal logic of working with the system. Don't do that))
  • I'll probably add one more thing here. Very often you can see persistent advice “not to work as an administrator,” and there is a reason for this that is not entirely obvious to Windows users. The fact is that typing a command in the console is fraught with the danger of typos and accidental clicks. A very real situation is when you are about to delete a folder, start writing the path to it and accidentally hit ENTER. Linux is not in the habit of asking “Are you really that stupid? y/n” - he’ll just do it. Therefore, you have to be very careful when typing commands as root. In Windows, of course, there is no such problem.

3. User's graphical environment

  • The user's entire graphical environment is a collection of application programs. Historically, for a Windows user, concepts such as the “Desktop”, taskbar, system tray, volume control, clock and calendar, Start menu, access to network settings from the tray are an integral part of the Windows OS. In Linux, all of the above is implemented by separate programs. Moreover, for each task from the given list there is far more than one program. As a volume control I can put volumeicon written in C or volwheel in python
  • The graphical environment is based on the following programs:
    1. X-server, or simply “X”. A program that receives data from the user (from input devices) and basic window management, minimizing and maximizing them. It is called a “server” because it provides “network transparency”: for Linux it makes no difference how the user logged into the graphical session, locally or remotely. A kind of RDP as basic functionality, to put it simply.
    2. Window Manager, also known as WM. It is engaged in rendering elements of the window interface, plus (depending on the sophistication) providing a number of other functions. Some WMs allow you to set the desktop background, some add “system menu” functionality. Sometimes the X server comes with the simplest window manager - TWM. Scary as God's sin, straight from the 70s.
    3. Window decorator - sometimes functionality for window decoration, the ability to change design themes is included in a separate program
    4. Composite manager - also available as part of WM, or as a separate program. Its task is to transfer the rendering of the interface to the video card. Technically, the principle is simple - each rendered window is a separate texture in the video card memory. And video cards have been able to handle textures, add effects and distortions, project onto a plane in space, change translucency and overlay them on top of each other for many years.
    5. Interface elements: taskbar, tray, network manager, system menu, program for setting desktop wallpaper
    6. Basic application software - file manager, terminal emulator (to console commands write in a beautiful translucent window)
  • Pre-configured “sets” of elements of a graphical environment selected for each other, programs from the list above, are called “Desktop Environments”, or DE. The most famous DEs are Gnome and KDE, the most heavyweight and “fat”. There are also XFCE and LXDE. Installation is often carried out by installing the so-called meta-package - the package itself does not contain files, but as dependencies it requires the installation of the entire set of programs that make up the DE: WM, decorator/composite manager, file manager, and so on
  • It is also possible (and often reasonable) to assemble an environment for yourself from “pieces” to your liking - select WM separately, a separate file manager, and so on
Summing up

After a little self-education, getting a graphic from a text-console system occurs in one command. In my case, I type:
pacman -S xf86-video-ati xorg-server openbox tint2 nitrogen lxterminal xcompmgr wicd-gtk volumeicon.
This is the command to install all the listed packages:
xf86-video-ati these are open-source drivers for my video card
xorg-server these are “X’s”
openbox This is a lightweight WM with a system menu (like “Start”)
tint2 this is the taskbar with a tray where applications will be minimized
nitrogen allows you to set the desktop background
lxterminal– my favorite terminal emulator
xcompmgr This is the simplest composite manager, adds translucency and shadows
wicd-gtk This is a network connection manager that hangs in the tray
volumeicon– volume control

After that, from the graphical environment, through lxterminal I install everything else that is needed for life: browser(s), file manager, video and audio codecs, player, libreoffice, gimp, etc.)

I love Linux. This is a fairly convenient system with interesting features that are sometimes lacking on Windows. But at the same time, my work-home laptop runs Windows 8.1. Why is this so?

First, I’ll tell you why Linux is better. Yes, I dealt mainly with Debian-based systems (from Crunchbang to Elementary OS), please don’t take the above commands like sudo apt-get as a personal insult. And all the other Linux users, sorry if something is wrong, I’m still a Windows user.

1. Terminal

Yes, the terminal is cool. Of course, not everyone will share my enthusiasm, but those who have taken some time to familiarize themselves with the capabilities of the terminal know how convenient it is to perform some operations in it, rather than fidgeting with the mouse/touchpad.

On Windows there is PoweShell, you can even install Cygwin (a Linux terminal emulator), but the system atmosphere is not conducive to using them.

2. Packages, repositories

What does a Windows technician do after installing a new system? IN best case scenario takes out a blank/flash drive with a set of software. What's the downside? Old software, obviously, since many programs do not have a properly implemented auto-update function. Of course, you can download new installers, but everyone understands how resource-intensive this is (I suspect that there is special programs, which can pull up the latest versions of applications, but I don’t reinstall Windows that often).

How does system deployment work on Linux? In the worst case, a terminal opens and something like this is typed in:

sudo apt-get install _some_package_

sudo add-apt-repository ppa :_some_repo_
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install _other_package_

…

More advanced Linux users can sketch out a script in Bash/Python/etc, into which they put everything they need without any questions (we won’t say anything about creating your own Linux build). The disadvantage of such approaches is the need for a fairly wide Internet channel, or patience. But the latest version from the repositories is pulled up.

Packages are updated at once (sic!) something like this:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

Yes, if someone doesn’t like it, Ubuntu (and Mint and Elementary as well) has a graphical application center.

3. Architecture

This is a capacious word, and now I will not talk about the architectural advantages of Unix-like systems. But, at a minimum, in Linux there is no register - this huge dump in which you can find echoes of crusades Windows 3.x. Applications most often work according to the principle: “I carry everything I own with me” and configs/settings are not shoved into all sorts of folders like ProgramData, etc. Many programs (most) are portable ( last example– unofficial Telegram client. By unzipping it to any location, you can launch the application simply by clicking).

Most often, programs do not strive, as in Windows, to bring a little personality to systems and use system design and adapt to changing themes. For anyone, I think this is a huge plus.

4. Security Policy

Admit it honestly - you have one user on Windows, of course an administrator. For, there is UAC, but it’s quite easy to disable (in 8.1 it seems like you can’t install modern applications after disabling, but that’s a different story). In Linux, any sneeze requires entering a password - it’s difficult to break something just like that (by the way, a small life hack - if you need to delete a file that only root has access to, and you are not yet used to going through folders from under the terminal, enter in the terminal sudo *name of your file manager*. In Ubuntu this is usually nautilus, in Mint it’s nemo). But if you like to command, sudo will help you.

5. Variety, freeware

In my opinion, there is no place in Linux that cannot be “customized”. There are thousands of assemblies, hundreds of desktop slot shells (to be very crude, it’s like a launcher in Android). Probably, almost everyone will be able to find something that they like and that suits them personally. Personally, from DE (Desktop Environment) I like Unity and Pantheon.

I have never encountered the concept of piracy in Linux. However, like paid programs :) More precisely, they exist, but the need to buy them has never arisen.

6. Community

Despite the fact that Windows uses about one and a half orders of magnitude more people, the solution to the problem with Ubuntu (I’m not so sure about others) is almost easier to Google, if it exists, of course.

1. Absence of childhood diseases.

Android or iOS, AMD or Intel, Radeon or INVIDIA - such a comparative list can be continued endlessly, because when the question arises of choosing a product, the manufacturer plays a significant role.

This also applies to operating systems, of which the most developed on the market are Windows and Linux (various distributions as the final product). Each of them has its own pros and cons, the meaning of which tends to vary from one OS to another.

Usually, doubt about which is better: “Linux or Windows” appears only among Windows users, when it seems that there is something more, where there is better functionality, capabilities, a cooler interface, and in general - Windows is enough.

For Linux users, of course, the opposite is true - those who “rolled over” to it or did so expediently, looking for convenient administration tools, statistical tracking, system flexibility, personalization or stable operation.

Let's consider the most popular points that we consider to be the advantages of a particular OS:

Gaming focus

All new AAA games are released on Windows. It cannot be said that there are no games as such for Linux - no, they exist, but they are either present in very small quantities or optimization suffers at a catastrophic level, not allowing play on systems where the same game ran well on Windows.

To put it briefly: best system For gaming platform- this is a product from Microsoft, there is no doubt about it, absolutely.

Usability

For an untrained user, Windows is the most best option not only to get acquainted with computers, but also to master all other tools, be it: the Internet, office applications, professional tools and more.

The initial focus of development for the “user” resulted in the current “simplicity” of the operating system, where you can even understand it intuitively.

But it is no longer possible to say the above about Linux (distributions). Here the “usability” aspect is good, but the focus on the common user was clearly not a priority. There is one convenience - access to information and its processing using the console.

Stability

About the issue of stability. It’s difficult to answer in detail, at the moment, even if you do real experiments, it’s hard to identify some kind of dependence and confidently shout: “Yeah, your Windows crashes and lags.” The stability of both systems is almost equal, but still, there have been and will be stereotypical rumors that Windows freezes and does not work very well.

Linux and Windows uptime

There's no reason to argue here - Windows wins.

The question of computer operating time arose after the advent of laptops, when people got rid of the need to sit at the outlet all the time, as in the case of a personal computer.

Let's assume that there is a computer that has been running for 2 hours on Linux with "laptop-mode" (power-saver for laptops of Linux systems) enabled. On Windows, a similar system will work for about 5-6 hours, this has been proven both experimentally and by user observations. Well, Linux systems do not adequately reduce computer energy consumption.

A question of popularity operating systems has been discussed by users for decades. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of each OS, people prefer to choose those aspects that suit them more. What is better - Windows or Linux - will be discussed in this article.

System Requirements

Microsoft Windows 10 is latest version at the moment. Compared to its predecessors (8, 7, Vista), its requirements for computer characteristics are almost the same, but, as the developers assure, it works effectively on older PCs.

According to official Microsoft data, the minimum system requirements Windows 10 are:

Pay attention! Despite these characteristics, it is recommended to use a 32-bit system for 1-3 GB of RAM, and a 64-bit system for 4 GB or more.

For different Linux distributions minimum requirements vary depending on system capabilities. For an OS with window managers like Openbox, you need at least:

When working with a x64 system, 4 GB+ of RAM is required, as is the case with Windows, but in Linux with a smaller amount the performance decrease is insignificant. This is due to the flexibility of the pre-installed software and its low consumption of computer resources.

Taking into account the presented hardware requirements, Linux is more productive than Windows when using application programs. In some applications or games developed primarily for Windows, this value varies.

Settings

Users note that the settings in Windows 10 are located in inconvenient places. An attempt to simplify access to component management by dividing them into categories and subcategories led to confusion, which is why some of them are truly “hidden” in the depths of the OS.

Almost all Linux distributions have a Settings Manager, which stores all the functionality of OS parameters available to the user (from appearance before installing drivers). There are no divisions into endless subcategories.

Pay attention! The Settings Manager looks different depending on the desktop environment you're using, but the principle is the same.

Linux settings are more flexible and allow you to change even system keyboard shortcuts, which is prohibited by developers in Windows.

Safety

Windows is constantly susceptible to attack by various viruses. Malware developers take advantage of the insecurity of the OS and the carelessness of users who rely on Defender or other antivirus software to destabilize the system and, worse, steal sensitive data.

The reason for this is not only its popularity. From the OS kernel to the software management method, everything has significant flaws that people with illegal intentions take advantage of.

In Linux, security is a top priority. The main reason for this is free software supported by GNU. In fact, Linux is the OS kernel, the software part is GNU. The freedom of GNU programs lies in the absence of restrictions on their installation, distribution, study, and modification. So, the more “correct” (but not mandatory) name for the distributions is GNU/Linux, and the kernels are Linux. The latter is often used as a collective concept.

Anyone can control (if they have the necessary knowledge for this) installed software and its impact on the OS. This is the basis of safety, because every day source code programs are controlled by developers around the world.

In Linux, you cannot install or uninstall a program without entering a password. This is a major precaution in software management. The virus cannot harm the OS in any way, because it will ask for a password, which is written in the file with high level encryption.

Thanks to this, Linux does without an antivirus. Malware only manifests itself when the user acts carelessly (which is unlikely due to the security system). And viruses that are developed for Windows are not capable of harming Linux due to differences in architecture and operating principles.

Popularity and price

The popularity of Windows began back in the 90s of the last century due to Microsoft's monopoly on the software market. Then their OS was installed on all computers. Now the situation has begun to change.

Most PC users in the post-Soviet space have pirated software installed. Windows versions. WITH legal point In our opinion, this is a clear violation of the Microsoft license agreement and the domestic laws of these countries. The company is aware of this, but they have chosen a clear development strategy - full collection of information about users, regardless of whether they have a license. And it is unknown how they will manage it in the near future.

On the official Microsoft website, the price of Windows 10 Home is 8,699 rubles, Windows 10 Pro - 14,199 rubles, Windows 10 Pro for workstations - 21,899 rubles.

According to LinuxCounter, Linux-based systems are used by about 6% of users on desktop PCs and laptops worldwide and more than 90% on servers and control stations.

GNU/Linux OS is free. You can freely go to the website of any distribution and download it for free. There are also paid options, for example, a distribution kit from the USA, Red Hat (produced by the company of the same name), provides paid services, in particular, 24/7 support for setting up and using your product.

Software

When you purchase Windows, you find that the only useful applications are the proprietary browser, image viewer, and multimedia player. The rest of the software is purchased separately, most of which are paid.

The main advantage of a Microsoft product is the availability of any software. Any program that runs on macOS or GNU/Linux is available for Windows (albeit in alternative). Modern games, devices, software for working with multimedia are developed for Windows.

For GNU/Linux, the number of applications has increased significantly over the past 5 years. New programs, equipment, games - everything is being ported at a high pace to run on Linux.

Software that was originally supported on Linux continues to evolve. Enthusiastic developers from all over the world write useful utilities and programs to diversify the choice of Linux users.

Almost any distribution, upon detecting the connection of a new device, will immediately install the necessary driver for it. The exception is non-free Nvidia video card drivers, Wi-Fi modules and models of some laptop processors, which are easily installed through the hardware configurator.

For any field of activity (biology, chemistry, programming), GNU/Linux is the ideal environment, since it provides unambiguous and useful tools that are missing in Windows or that try to provide similar functionality.

Design customization

Windows allows standard means to change only the color of windows. Large-scale changes to the design of the panel and applications are prohibited.

In GNU/Linux there are no restrictions on changing the appearance: from fonts to window title design. There are many standard themes, and it is also possible to install additional ones from the Internet.

Conclusions

There is no clear answer to the question of which is better - Windows or Linux. Each OS has its own advantages and disadvantages. Due to the prevalence of Windows, few people know about Linux. Both systems can perform any task, but they provide different tools.