Is Android really a Linux distribution?

Today in Open Source: Is Android really Linux? Plus: ARM Linux, and the virtues of Window Maker I’m actually inclined to agree with the article, and I think it makes some sense to consider Android as yet another distribution of Linux. I know that there are many who don’t consider it to be that, but I think they are engaging in “purist” thinking. Or perhaps they see it differently because Android has been focused on the mobile space (phones and tablets) rather than on the desktop like Linux Mint, Ubuntu or other well known distributions. It may also have to do with whether or not someone considers Linux to be just the kernel, or the entire operating system. So much of this debate rests on what a user perceives Linux to be, and what Android actually is on various devices.