## page was renamed from WindowsVsLinuxComparisons
This page provides some high level comparisons between Windows
and Linux.
User Logins:: In newer Windows distributions the User Login operations
are similar to how a user Logs into a Linux machine.
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'In each case the user has a Username and a Password'
Users and Groups:: Both Windows and Ubuntu Linux have Users
and User Groups
Ports and devices:: Both Windows and Linux support Physical device ports such as parallel, serial, and USB.
Various controllers, such as IDE and SCSI, are also supported.
Networking:: Linux and Windows both support a number of networking protocols, such as TCP/IP, NetBIOS, and IPX.
Both support a wide variety of network adapters. Both provide the ability to share resources, such as files and printing,
through the network. Both provide capability to perform network services, such as DHCP and DNS.
Services:: Linux and Windows both have services, applications that run in the background to provide some
function to the system and to computers that remotely call the service.
These programs can be controlled individually and be started automatically when the system boots.
(Note: In Linux these applications are often referred to as daemons, a legacy of its Unix roots.)
File systems::Both Linux and Windows work with a variety of file systems.
File resources can be shared with through NetBIOS, FTP, or other protocols.
File System Hierarchy:: Most Windows users have one physical drive
and that drive is split into various size chunks. Each of those chunks
(sections) is (unfortunately) referred to
as a Drive having a Letter Designation of C thru Z.
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Linux (physical drives) can also be split into various size chunks but
each chunk has a Directory Name, such as
* usr
* var
* home
* etc
Filename extensions:: Linux does not use filename extensions to identity a file's type. Rather, Linux looks at
the header contents of a file to identity the type. You can still use filename extensions for human-readability,
but Linux doesn't care. That said, some applications, such as a Web server, may use naming conventions
to identify file types, but that is a factor of the individual applications, it is not a Linux convention.
File Names:: Windows has many Folder and File names that
contain embedded spaces, for example
'My Documents'
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Linux allows embedded spaces in File and Directory names
but the practice is discouraged. However, oftentimes the
'period' or 'underline' character is used instead of a space character.
Folders:: In Windows a Folder refers to a collection of Files or
Sub-Folders and Files.
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'In Linux a Folder is a Directory' and Directories can contain Sub-directories and files.
Home Folder:: In Windows there is not a concept of a Home Folder
but each user has a Folder that matches their Login name on the
C: drive, under 'Documents and Settings'
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In Linux Home folders are (almost always) in the '/home' directory
and there is a Directory under /home that matches the User Login
name, such as
* /home/john
* /home/paul
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/home directories under Linux can be anywhere and are not
confined to the /home directory, however, Home Directories
are generally in /home.
Pre-assigned Folders:: Windows has some pre-assigned folders such as
'My Documents'
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Linux does not (currently) create or pre-assign Directory names so
you will not find a 'My Documents' Directory on a Linux machine
unless someone created the 'My Documents' directory.
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This also applies to the following Windows Folders such as
* My Pictures
* My Anything
GUI vs Console Interface:: Windows has the 'cmd' feature that
provides the user with an interface that is command oriented
and does not go thru the GUI to execute applications etc.
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The equivalent feature on a Linux machine is referred to as
the Console Interface.
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The Console Interface is used almost exclusively by experienced
Linux users. It is actually possible to boot a Linux machine and
use the Console Interface for various operations without starting
up the GUI. In fact there are times when you may have altered something
that prevents the GUI from starting and you have to access the Linux
machine via the Console to correct the problem.
Commands are case sensitive:: All Linux (Console) commands and options are case sensitive. For example, -R
is different from -r, and will do different things. Console commands are almost always lowercase.
Internet Browsers:: Windows comes with the Internet Explorer Browser loaded
and ready to use.
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Ubuntu comes with the Epiphany Browser and Kubuntu comes with the
Konqueror Browser. Both browsers are loaded during the installation of
Ubuntu/Kubuntu.
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The Firefox browser can be installed after the Linux Installation is complete.
Application Software:: The Windows OS provides many pre-loaded applications
for sound, processing photos, working with Personal Information Managers and the like.
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To add additional applications you have to go to a Company site and download and install
their application(s). Often Windows applications not written by MS depend on other
software packages that you also have to download and install to get additional application
to run.
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Linux comes with similar applications but most additional applications come from the
Ubuntu site and have been written for and tested on your current Ubuntu release.
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Ubuntu will only provide free software covered by the GPL licensing agreement(s).
Some Nvidia video drivers are not provided by the Ubuntu Distribution because
they are considered restricted and contain code the manufacturer says is
proprietary. However, most of this code can be downloaded from various
restricted repositorie(s) and installed on your machine.
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When you download and install a Ubuntu (99% of the time) package all the
dependent software required to run that package is downloaded and installed
at the same time.
Rebooting is a last resort:: If you have been using Windows for a long time, you are accustomed to rebooting the system
for many reasons, from software installation to correcting problems with a service. The system design of Linux prevents
applications from corrupting the kernel, which is why it doesn't need frequent reboots (in contrast to Windows system design).
So except for the Linux kernel, you can install, start, stop, and reconfigure (most) software without having to reboot the system.
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