quick question im searching for school

[civcmatt]

i am trying to find out how many versions of linux there are. and i have read and read and i cant find a firm answer in it. wondering if one of you could shead some light for me...

[techieMoe]

Finding a definite number will be next to impossible because it seems there's a new distribution being churned out by someone every day. My personal estimates put it somewhere in the 2,000-2,500+ range, but that's just a figure I'm throwing out there.

For a good idea of the most popular ones (there's about 200 of them), look at DistroWatch.com.

[civcmatt]

well the actual question itself is "How many different Linux are out there?" does that narrow it down? maybe not really?

[techieMoe]

well the actual question itself is "How many different Linux are out there?" does that narrow it down? maybe not really?

No, it doesn't. That's a very broad question with many possible interpretations. I would ask your instructor to clarify. If that's not possible, then just interpret it how you like and give your best answer. That's really all your instructor can ask for with a question like that. I would interpret that as asking how many distributions of Linux exist, which I've already answered with my best guess. If you need something with factual support, I'd use the DistroWatch rankings as a source.

[civcmatt]

thank you so much! i appreciate it.