That Android is based on Linux is well known, one might therefore ask whether Android is a Linux distribution like Ubuntu or Debian . The truth is that even if Linux based, 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 is the central part of Android, but Google has not added, in its operating system for smartphones and tablets, the typical software of a Linux distribution such as Ubuntu.
The big difference, therefore, is reduced to what is meant by the term "Linux" which, essentially, does not indicate a specific operating system, but only its "kernel", that is the central part or the heart of each system.
Linux distributions then have not only the same kernel inside them, but many other software, such as the GNU shell utilities, the GNOME desktop, the Firefox web browser and so on.
Thus being so similar, some people, often for ease of understanding, refer to distributions as Linux systems.
Like all Linux programs, the kernel is also open source and can be changed by those who develop the operating system.
Google developers who deal with Android can then modify its Linux kernel to meet their needs.
Like Android, there are many other operating systems based on the Linux kernel, more than you 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 version of the Linux kernel running on a device by going to the Settings menu and then on Info on the phone or tablet.
Going back to the question of the article, if Android can be considered a Linux distribution, I noticed how a well-defined answer is still highly debated.
When you boot an Android device, the Linux kernel loads just like it does on any other distribution.
However, almost all the software included in Android is different and, for example, there are no GNU C (glibc) libraries and not even an X server like Xorg included on normal Linux distributions that are used to run standard applications.
Android uses 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 such as Terminal Emulator) which is very similar to that of a Linux distro, even if it is not possible to do much, unless you unlock it Android with root permissions, i.e. system administrator.
As already mentioned, on a standard Linux distribution, not 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 he can run various applications on a normal computer.
We have seen, as a better example, that you can 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 Android experience on smartphones or tablets.
In addition to Android, Google Chrome OS is also based on Linux.
Unlike Android, Chrome OS is however 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 programs on Linux computers.
