A Linux OS...

[MarkA]

What makes a Linux OS. If I make my own distro, how can I tell if it is Linux or not? I know that it depends on the kernel.. but for example Red Hat has a kernel, but debian has a different kernel.. right? But they are both Linux... aren't they?

[WingedPanther]

They use the same kernel.

[Jordan]

The difference in distributions are the packages they include. They generally customize things such as the boot screens and login screen.

[MarkA]

So that's why some programs don't work on all of them? Depending from the packages? I though they had different kernels.

[TcM]

The kernel is what defines if it's Linux or not... irrelevant if it's debian or whatever...

[Tor]

So that's why some programs don't work on all of them? Depending from the packages? I though they had different kernels.

Same kernel, different packages and package versions. They may also have different package managers (RPM, Debian Package Manager, etc).

[PenguinLover]

Hmm, at first I didn't think they had the same Kernel... I got confused because of some incompatabilities... but now it's all clear!

Thanks MarkA for bringing this subject up!

EDIT: And thanks all other for their answers too

[MarkA]

Lol, you are welcome.

[Tor]

I think some distributions may have different versions of the kernel, but I am not sure entirely.

[WingedPanther]

You can get distros with old versions of the kernal, or with the Herd kernal instead of the Linux kernal. Usually, that means not having the most recent version, however.