Too Long; Didn't Read
Linux has a lot of distributions to cater to different types of users. Linux distros use the Linux kernel under the hood and combine it with other operating system components, such as the shell, desktop environments, etc, they are called Linux Distributions and not the operating systems. Linux has always been a kernel, not a full-blown operating system, since its inception and first release, Linus Torvalds in 1991. Linux is just a kernel and not a complete operating system.