Determining Your Linux Version
With Microsoft Windows it is easy to determine the version of the MS Windows Operating system currently installed. With Linux it is easy to determine the version of the Linux kernel you are running. However, the distribution version is determined differently depending on which distribution you are using. Also, further component version information depends on distribution and kernel.
[Krissy's Question and Answer] addresses the issue of determining installed version information briefly. Here we explore it in greater detail.
Contents
Linux Kernel
Q: how can I tell what linux kernel version I have?
A: type 'uname -s -r'
Linux Components
gcc compiler
Q: how can I tell what gcc version I have?
A: type 'gcc --version'
glibc
Q: how can I tell what glibc version I have?
A: type '/lib/libc.so.6'
Xwindows / XFree86 / and Windows Managers
XFree86
Q: how can I tell what vesion of xwindows I have?
A: type 'XFree86 -version' or 'xdpyinfo'
KDE
GNome
Linux Distribution Specific
There is no one super command to accomplish this. Instead you will need to make some observations.
- Use 'dmesg' to see if system displayed distro during boot.
- Check for presence of certail signature distro files,
- You may also check the issue or issue.net file. type 'cat /etc/issue'
Redhat
Redhat creates '/etc/redhat-release'
SuSE
SuSE creates '/etc/SuSE-release'
Debian
Debian creates '/etc/debian_version'
Knoppix
With the CD in the drive (doesn't work for disk installation) type: strings /mnt/cdrom/KNOPPIX/boot.img | grep BETA
for installed knoppix, at the shell type: /etc/knoppix-version
Ubuntu
at the shell type: sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
or within the GUI, System > About Ubuntu
or at the shell type: cat /etc/issue
Mandrake
at the shell type: cat /etc/mandrake-release