They're their own operating system insofar as they are distributed by different organizations with different goals. But they all use some version of the Linux kernel, and are largely collections of lots of other open source software in various combinations based on the distro's goals.

They're their own operating system insofar as they are distributed by different organization with different goals. But they all use some version of the Linux kernel, and are largely collections of lots of other open source software in various combinations based on the distro's goals.

Edit: My god I'm a typo factory. 🤦

They're their own operating system insofar as they are distributed by different organization with different goals. But they all use some version of the Linux kernel, and are largely collections of lots of other open source software in various combinations based on the distro's goals.