Cheatsheet

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

Term	Abbreviation	Explanation
Distribution	Distro	The "type" of Linux you are using. Examples: 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, i3, qtile, awesomewm, or sway.
Compositor		Makes visual effects, but costs performance.
Package manager		Essential part of your distro, has the purpose of downloading, installing, and removing packages. Examples: apt, or pacman.
Package		Program, part of a program, or library
Library		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		Starts your DE. Examples: sddm, or gdm.
Shell		The "environment" you have in the terminal. For example 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". Like any other part of your system, you can easily change the kernel, too. This can be a good idea if you want extra performance. Examples: linux, linux-lts, linux-zen, linux-tkg-pds, linux-tkg-bmq, xanmod, ...