Cheatsheet

You might see some terms you are not familiar with. Here is a collection of some that might help you.

Term	Abbreviation	Explanation
Linux		Has two meaning. It's either just the Linux kernel, or it's an operating system that uses the Linux kernel. Most of the time when you read Linux, it means the whole system.
Distribution	Distro	The "type" of Linux you are using. Examples: Nobara, Pop!_OS, Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, ...
Desktop Environment	DE	How your Linux looks like. Think of the difference between Windows 7, 10, and 11. Unlike on Windows, this can be changed without reinstalling your system. Examples: KDE Plasma, or Gnome.
Window Manager	WM	Arranges your windows at the place you want them to be. Examples: KWin, Mutter, Qtile, awesome.
Compositor (X11)		Makes visual effects, but costs performance, and adds input lag.
Compositor (Wayland)		Combines the functions of a window manager and compositing. Basically the equivalent of X11 window managers. Examples: KWin, Mutter, Qtile, Sway, river and Hyprland.
Package manager		Essential part of your distro, has the purpose of downloading, installing, and removing packages. Examples: apt, or pacman.
Package	Pkg	Program, part of a program, or library
Library	Lib	Collection of stuff that programs use to function. Typically has the ending .so. (on windows this would be .dll)
Terminal		Black window with text. Essentially a different way to operate your system.
Display Manager	DM	Starts your DE. Examples: sddm, or gdm.
Shell	sh	The "environment" you have in the terminal. Examples: zsh, fish, or bash.
Display Server		Draws stuff on the screen. Can be either X.Org, or Wayland.
Kernel		The "heart" of your system. If a program wants specific resources (reading/writing a file, or getting processing time for example), it asks the kernel, and the kernel delivers them. Linux is actually just the kernel, but most people refer to the whole system (the distribution) when saying "Linux". Examples: linux, linux-lts, linux-zen, linux-tkg-pds, linux-tkg-bmq, xanmod, ...
Wine		Compatibility layer to run Windows programs on Linux.
GNU		GNU stands for GNU is not UNIX. Yes, it uses GNU to explain what GNU means. And it's probably part of your Linux system. That's why some people refer to Linux as GNU/Linux. They argue, that Linux is just the Kernel, and GNU is what makes it an operating system. However, most people use Linux to refer to the whole OS, except one guy named "rms".