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.

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

Q: how can I tell what vesion of xwindows I have?
A: type 'XFree86 -version' or 'xdpyinfo'

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,
• Redhat creates '/etc/redhat-release'
• SuSE creates '/etc/SuSE-release'
• Debian creates '/etc/debian_version'
• You may also check the issue or issue.net file. type 'cat /etc/issue'