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How are these different from the proper OS release we get?

Abhishek Gaur
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  • Ubuntu releases have a codename, currently I'm using lunar which will change name when it reaches RC (Release Candidate) just prior to release, changing name to Ubuntu 23.04 (ie. the 2023-April release). The codename is how the system refers to itself in sources. After zesty (17.04) they ran out of letters & had to return to A thus the next release was artful (17.10), bionic (18.04), cosmic (18.10)... etc thru to my current lunar (23.04)... – guiverc Feb 15 '23 at 11:35
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    You need to add more info, As written this is not a question. What are proper releases? Every release has a cute name as well as a number Ubuntu 22.04 is Jammy for example. – David Feb 15 '23 at 11:35
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    Does this answer your question? How are release codenames chosen? – guiverc Feb 15 '23 at 11:35

2 Answers2

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artful, bionic, cosmic, etc. are the codenames of Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 18.10. The first letter of Ubuntu release codenames are in ascending alphabetical order, going up one letter of the alphabet with each successive release. New Ubuntu versions are released twice a year in the fourth month (April) and in the tenth month (October). The current latest LTS version of Ubuntu is Ubuntu 22.04 which was released in the 4th month of 2022, and that's where the 4 and 22 in 22.04 originated from. There's a reason why the naming of Ubuntu release is done in a mnemonic way. It's to make the names easy to understand, remember and use in shell scripting.

Run echo $(lsb_release -cs) to print your Ubuntu release's codename. The release codename is frequently used in Ubuntu software repositories to refer to a specific version of Ubuntu. For example, the codename of Ubuntu 22.04 is jammy, and the word jammy in a software source indicates that all of the software in this software source is compatible with Ubuntu 22.04.

karel
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I'll provide a link to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases

which includes the supported releases at the top, and EOL releases lower down on the page, these include (for the EOL releases)

Ubuntu 18.10 | Cosmic Cuttlefish | Release Notes | October 18, 2018 | July 18, 2019

Ubuntu 17.10 | Artful Aardvark | Release Notes | October 19, 2017 | July 19 2018

Releases use the codename for the ~six months prior to release, switching from that codename when they reach RC or Release Candidate stage which is in the last week prior to actual release. I'm currently using Lubuntu lunar, which will be released in April 2023 as Lubuntu 23.04 (lunar lobster).

eg. My box shows the following details

guiverc@d7050-next:~$  lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu Lunar Lobster (development branch)
Release:        23.04
Codename:       lunar

The description of my release is what will change when RC is reached (a package with the change will appear just prior to the ISOs being generated which are the actual Release Candidate used in Quality Assurance testing)

My sources use that codename, eg.

guiverc@d7050-next:~$   grep lunar  /etc/apt/sources.list |head -n 2
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu lunar main restricted
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu lunar multiverse restricted main universe #Added by software-properties

ie. it's just a name that means a lot during the development stage, but is also used later when you support the release in product (in sources etc) though most end-users tend to think of the actual release version (ie. the year.month name).

guiverc
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  • Maybe I'm weird; but you to were to say "Ubuntu cosmic" I'd likely understand you mean Ubuntu 18.10 before I would if you asked me a question about "Ubuntu 18.10", as if I was told 18.10 I'd be mentally converting that into the codename before I fully understood the release you were talking about.. Difference I guess between those working on the releases, and the end users who use it (I'm moved to disco with ~32 hours of the release of cosmic on my primary box) – guiverc Feb 15 '23 at 12:30