The command sudo apt-get dist-upgrade is used to install updates for Debian-based Linux operating systems, which includes Ubuntu. This command intelligently handles changes with new versions of packages and will install the newest versions of all packages currently installed on the system. It also handles changing dependencies with new versions of packages and will attempt to upgrade the most important packages at the expense of less important ones if necessary. The dist-upgrade command, therefore, will install or remove packages as necessary to complete the full update.

References: This information is consistent with the best practices for maintaining a Debian-based system, as outlined in the Debian and Ubuntu documentation. The apt-get command is a powerful package management tool used in Debian-based systems for handling packages, and dist-upgrade is a specific option within apt-get that is designed for an intelligent system-wide upgrade12.