It is well known that Android is based on Linux, so one might wonder if Android is a Linux distribution like Ubuntu or Debian.The truth is that, although based on Linux, Android is not an operating system designed for PCs, it has applications that do not work on other Linux distros and, at the same time, it is not possible to install Linux programs on Android.
Linux forms the core part of Androidbut Google has not added the typical software of a Linux distribution like Ubuntu to its operating system for smartphones and tablets.
The big difference, then, comes down to what is intended with the term “Linux” which, essentially, does not indicate a specific operating system, but only its “kernel” that is, the central part or heart of every system.
Linux distributions then not only have the kernel itself, but many other software, such as the GNU shell utility programs, the GNOME desktop, the Firefox web browser and so on.
Being so similar, some people, often for ease of understanding, refer to the distributions as Linux systems.
Like all programs for Linux, the kernel is also open source and can be modified by those who develop the operating system.
Google developers dealing with Android can therefore modify its Linux kernel to suit their needs.
Like Android, there are many other operating systems based on the Linux kernel, more than you might think.
Other devices use different kernels, and for example, the PlayStation 4 uses the FreeBSD kernel (which is open source), while the Xbox One uses the Windows NT kernel, the same as Windows.
On Android you can see the Linux kernel version running on a device by going to the phone or tablet’s Settings menu and then About.
Returning to the question in the article, whether Android can be considered a Linux distribution, I noticed that a well-defined answer is still highly debated.
When you boot an Android device, it loads the Linux kernel just like it does on any other distribution.
However, almost all software included in Android is different and, for example, there are no GNU C libraries (glibc) or even an X server like Xorg included on normal Linux distributions that are used to run standard applications.
Android uses instead a virtual machine called Dalvik to run applications that are, essentially, written in Java. These applications are aimed at Android devices and are programmed using the APIs (programming interfaces) provided by Google.
On the other hand, however, on Android it is possible to access a terminal (using a special app like Terminal Emulator) which is very similar to that of a Linux distro, even if you can’t do much with it, unless you unlock it Android with root permissions, i.e. system administrator.
As already mentioned, on a standard Linux distributionnot including the Dalvik virtual machine, Android applications cannot be installed and run.
However, this does not mean that a capable developer can include Dalvik in a Linux distribution so that it can run the various applications on a normal computer.
We have seen, as a best example, that it is possible install Android X86 on a laptop and also some emulators like Bluestacks to install Android apps on Windows and Mac.
In reality however, it must be said clearly, Android is not a system designed for computers so its operation on PC, even with perfect emulators, will not be able to give the same excellent experience as Android on smartphones or tablets.
Besides Android, too Google Chrome OS it is based on Linux.
Unlike Android, Chrome OS is designed for PCs and is therefore much more similar to standard Linux distributions, so much so that on Chromebooks it is possible to enable developer mode to install Linux computer programs.