This is a very common and critical question, especially when you are just starting to use Ubuntu or plan to use it to deploy applications. Ubuntu Desktop (desktop version) and Ubuntu Server (server version) look like "the same system", but in fact there are many differences in design goals and default configurations.

　　Let's take a simple analogy:

　　Ubuntu Desktop is like a fully configured office computer, plug and play, can surf the Internet, and watch TV;

　　Ubuntu Server is more like a bare metal industrial device, which does not provide any "entertainment functions", but is very efficient, stable, reliable, and focused on work.

　　Detailed differences between Ubuntu Desktop and Ubuntu Server:

　　1. Is there a graphical interface (GUI)

　　Ubuntu Desktop has (default GNOME desktop), the desktop version is suitable for daily use, and there is an operating interface when it is turned on;

　　Ubuntu Server does not (default pure command line), the server version has only a command line interface by default, and is mainly managed remotely through SSH.

　　2. Different uses

　　Ubuntu Desktop is suitable for personal/developer office, Internet, development, and testing, and the desktop version is suitable for daily computer use scenarios, such as browsing the web and processing documents.

　　Ubuntu Server is suitable for operation and maintenance/enterprise websites, databases, containers, and cloud services, while the server version is designed for enterprise services, such as Nginx, MySQL, Docker, etc.

　　3. Differences in pre-installed software

　　Ubuntu Desktop has a browser, office software, a graphical desktop environment, and even optional service components

　　Ubuntu Server does not, and service components are more often pre-installed or manually added

　　4. Resource usage

　　Desktop has high resource usage: because it needs to run a graphical interface, memory and CPU usage are high;

　　Server is lighter: suitable for running on low-configuration machines or cloud hosts, and resources are allocated to service programs.

　　5. Installation method and experience

　　Desktop is a graphical installation process with a friendly interface that can be installed with a mouse click;

　　Server installation interface is a text menu, suitable for users familiar with the command line.

　　Can Ubuntu Server be installed with a graphical interface? Of course! You can install the GNOME desktop for Ubuntu Server with the following command:

　sudo apt update
　sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop

　　However, it is not recommended to do so for a simple reason:

　　GUI will bring additional resource overhead;

　　It is not good for server stability and security, and the graphical interface has more potential security vulnerabilities);

　　Servers do not need desktops, and daily remote command line operations through SSH are more efficient.

　　Suggestions for selection for novice developers

　　If you want to practice basic Linux operations, write code, and experience the Linux desktop environment: choose Ubuntu Desktop.

　　If you want to deploy websites, databases, Node applications, Docker, Nginx, etc.: choose Ubuntu Server.

　　If you want to "have both", you can first install an Ubuntu Server virtual machine on Ubuntu Desktop with VirtualBox to practice server environment deployment.

　　Ubuntu Desktop is designed for "people", and Ubuntu Server is designed for "programs/services". . The desktop version is friendly and comprehensive, suitable for learning and development; the server version is lightweight and stable, and is the first choice for deploying services. The core of the two is the same, what differs is the "shell" and "purpose".