I'm new to Ubuntu (14.04 LTS) and while I understand a bit about Linux I'm still confused about the entire concept because when I read terms like IRC, GTK, Gnome, Qt and so on, I get confused as to what they mean. To put things into a clearer perspective, I do use the command line and I understand some of the commands when I use them. It's basically just Googling around for related Questions on Forums till I get the correct code and then copying and pasting it (I know it requires a fair bit of knowledge about shell scripting, i'm guessing, to really understand the commands properly).
So I read about KDE and I've been using Ubuntu for a relatively short while. While I'm currently using Unity, I'm wondering whether it is necessary to switch to KDE to make it easier to develop and contribute to software being developed for it.
This is particularly with respect to Google Summer of Code that recommends you contribute to the KDE community, on any project of your liking, as a start to familiarize yourself with the environment. I know it's a long way to go for an utter noob but I've got to set a goal and start somewhere.
My question is whether I should download and install KDE and Plasma Desktop, as I believe it is called, or continue to use Unity, and if I do, what is the difference between the two?