this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2023
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Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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New to Linux, running Debian (if that matters), dot files are configuration files, yes? Do I need to explore each app/UI/program to figure out the possible options? Are there any universals in Linux? Across distros?

Thanks!

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[–] 1984@lemmy.today 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah dot files are config files, and usually apps have one. And yes, you would have to explore each program to see what the settings do.

You picked Debian now, just be aware that all software is very old and when you read docs for programs, you probably have to read about older versions instead of the current one.

very old

Obviously it's subjective but Debian doesn't use ancient software. For instance Bookworm has Python 3.11; the current Python is 3.12. Some software updates slowly enough that you end up with the latest version. I seem to recall zsh being up to date. But yeah, make sure you're using the correct version when looking up docs.