Linux (commonly pronounced /ˈlɪnəks/[3]) is a generic term referring to Unix-like A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification computer operating systems Operating system is an interface between hardware and user; it is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer. The operating system acts as a host for applications that are run on the machine. As a host, one of the purposes of an operating system is to handle the details of the based on the Linux kernel The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by a family of Unix-like operating systems. The term Linux distribution is used to refer to the various operating systems that run on top of the Linux Kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software Free and open source software, also F/OSS, FOSS, or FLOSS is software which is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code. This approach has gained both momentum and acceptance as the potential benefits have been increasingly recognized by both individuals and collaboration; typically all the underlying source code In computer science, source code is any collection of statements or declarations written in some human-readable computer programming language. Source code allows the programmer to communicate with the computer using a reserved number of instructions can be used, freely modified, and redistributed by anyone under the terms of the GNU GPL The GNU General Public License is a widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU project. The GPL is the most popular and well-known example of the type of strong copyleft license that requires derived works to be available under the same copyleft. Under this philosophy, the GPL grants the recipients of a[4] and other free licenses.

Linux is predominantly known for its use in servers A server is any combination of hardware or software designed to provide services to clients. When used alone, the term typically refers to a computer which may be running a server operating system, but is commonly used to refer to any software or dedicated hardware capable of providing services, although it is installed on a wide variety of computer hardware Hardware is a general term that refers to the physical artifacts of a technology. It may also mean the physical components of a computer system, in the form of computer hardware, ranging from embedded devices An embedded system is a special-purpose computer system designed to perform one or a few dedicated functions, often with real-time computing constraints. It is usually embedded as part of a complete device including hardware and mechanical parts. In contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal computer, can do many different tasks and mobile phones A mobile phone or mobile is a long-range, electronic device used for mobile voice or data communication over a network of specialized base stations known as cell sites. In addition to the standard voice function of a mobile phone, telephone, current mobile phones may support many additional services, and accessories, such as SMS for text messaging, to supercomputers A supercomputer is a computer that is at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation. Supercomputers introduced in the 1960s were designed primarily by Seymour Cray at Control Data Corporation , and led the market into the 1970s until Cray left to form his own company, Cray Research.[5] Linux distributions A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like software distributions built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions (often called distros for short) consist of a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players and database applications. The operating system will consist of the, installed on both desktop A desktop computer is a personal computer in a form intended for regular use at a single location, as opposed to a mobile laptop or portable computer. Prior to the wide spread of microprocessors a computer that could fit on a desk was considered remarkably small. Today the phrase usually indicates a particular style of computer case. Desktop and laptop A laptop is a personal computer designed for mobile use small enough to sit on one's lap. A laptop includes most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device (a touchpad, also known as a trackpad, and/or an Accupoint II), speakers, as well as a battery, into a single small and light unit. The computers, have become increasingly commonplace in recent years, owing largely to the popular Ubuntu Ubuntu , is a free Debian-derived computer operating system based on Linux. Ubuntu's goals include providing an up-to-date, stable operating system for the average user, with a strong focus on usability and ease-of-installation. Ubuntu has been selected by readers of desktoplinux.com as the most popular Linux distribution for the desktop, claiming distribution and to the emergence of netbooks According to Deloitte, as of the start of 2009, the established definition of a netbook was a notebook computer with a low-powered x86-compatible processor , small screen (no larger than 10 inches), (usually) small keyboard, equipped with wireless connectivity, lightweight (under three pounds/1.3 kilograms) and no optical disk drive. Netbooks are.[6][7]

The name "Linux" ( listen (help·info)) comes from the Linux kernel The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by a family of Unix-like operating systems. The term Linux distribution is used to refer to the various operating systems that run on top of the Linux Kernel, originally written in 1991 by Linus Torvalds Linus Benedict Torvalds ( pronunciation ; [ˈliːnɵs ˈtuːrvalds]; born December 28, 1969 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finland-Swedish software engineer best known for having initiated the development of the Linux kernel. He later became the chief architect of the Linux kernel, and now acts as the project's coordinator. The rest of the system usually comprises components such as the Apache HTTP Server The Apache HTTP Server, commonly referred to as Apache , is a web server notable for playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web and in 2009 became the first web server to surpass the 100 million web site milestone . Apache was the first viable alternative to the Netscape Communications Corporation web server (currently known as, the X Window System The X Window System is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for networked computers, and was initially developed as part of Project Athena. It implements the X display protocol and provides windowing on raster graphics (bitmap) computer displays and manages keyboard and pointing device, the K Desktop Environment, and utilities System software is closely related to, but distinct from operating system software. It is any computer software that provides the infrastructure over which programs can operate, i.e. it manages and controls computer hardware so that application software can perform. Operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X or Linux, are prominent and libraries In computer science, a library is a collection of subroutines or classes used to develop software. Libraries contain code and data that provide services to independent programs. This allows the sharing and changing of code and data in a modular fashion. Some executables are both standalone programs and libraries, but most libraries are not from the GNU GNU (pronounced /ɡəˈnuː/ , or in some countries /ˈnjuː/) is a computer operating system composed entirely of free software. Its name is a recursive acronym for GNU's Not Unix; it was chosen because its design is Unix-like, but differs from Unix by being free software and containing no Unix code. Development of GNU was initiated by Richard operating system Operating system is an interface between hardware and user; it is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer. The operating system acts as a host for applications that are run on the machine. As a host, one of the purposes of an operating system is to handle the details of the (announced in 1983 by Richard Stallman Richard Matthew Stallman , often abbreviated "rms", is an American software freedom activist, hacker, and software developer. In September 1983, he launched the GNU Project to create a free Unix-like operating system, and has been the project's lead architect and organizer. With the launch of the GNU Project, he started the free software). Commonly-used applications with desktop Linux systems include the Mozilla Firefox Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. Firefox had 22.51% of the recorded usage share of web browsers as of May 2009, making it the second most popular browser in terms of current use worldwide, after Internet Explorer web-browser and the OpenOffice.org OpenOffice.org , commonly known simply as OpenOffice, is an office application suite available for a number of different computer operating systems. It is distributed as free software. It supports the ISO/IEC standard OpenDocument Format (ODF) for data interchange as its default file format, as well as Microsoft Office formats among others. As of office application suite. The GNU contribution is the basis for the Free Software Foundation The Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to distribute and modify computer software without restriction. The FSF is incorporated in Massachusetts, USA's preferred name GNU/Linux The GNU/Linux naming controversy is a dispute among members of the free and open source software community over how to refer to the computer operating system commonly called Linux.[8][9]

Contents

History

Richard Stallman Richard Matthew Stallman , often abbreviated "rms", is an American software freedom activist, hacker, and software developer. In September 1983, he launched the GNU Project to create a free Unix-like operating system, and has been the project's lead architect and organizer. With the launch of the GNU Project, he started the free software, left, founder of the GNU project The GNU Project is a free software, mass collaboration project, announced on September 27, 1983, by Richard Stallman. It initiated the GNU operating system, software development for which began in January 1984. The founding goal of the project was, in the words of its initial announcement, to develop "a sufficient body of free software [...], and Linus Torvalds Linus Benedict Torvalds ( pronunciation ; [ˈliːnɵs ˈtuːrvalds]; born December 28, 1969 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finland-Swedish software engineer best known for having initiated the development of the Linux kernel. He later became the chief architect of the Linux kernel, and now acts as the project's coordinator, right, author An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. The second entry goes on to clarify that, when using the term author, the "anything" which is created is most usually associated with written work of the Linux kernel The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by a family of Unix-like operating systems. The term Linux distribution is used to refer to the various operating systems that run on top of the Linux Kernel
See also: History of Linux The Linux kernel has been marked by constant growth throughout its history. Since the initial release of its source code in 1991, it has grown from a small number of C files under a license prohibiting commercial distribution to its state in 2009 of over 370 megabytes of source under the GNU General Public License

The Unix Unix is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna. Today's Unix systems are split into various branches, developed over time by AT&T as well as various commercial vendors and non-profit organizations operating system was conceived and implemented in the 1960s and first released in 1970. Its wide availability and portability In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed . The term is also used in a general way to refer to the changing of software/hardware to make them usable in different environments meant that it was widely adopted, copied and modified by academic institutions and businesses, with its design being influential on authors of other systems.

The GNU Project The GNU Project is a free software, mass collaboration project, announced on September 27, 1983, by Richard Stallman. It initiated the GNU operating system, software development for which began in January 1984. The founding goal of the project was, in the words of its initial announcement, to develop "a sufficient body of free software [...], started in 1984 by Richard Stallman Richard Matthew Stallman , often abbreviated "rms", is an American software freedom activist, hacker, and software developer. In September 1983, he launched the GNU Project to create a free Unix-like operating system, and has been the project's lead architect and organizer. With the launch of the GNU Project, he started the free software, had the goal of creating a "complete Unix-compatible software system"[10] composed entirely of free software Free software or software libre is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with minimal restrictions only to ensure that further recipients can also do these things and that manufacturers of consumer-facing hardware. The next year Stallman created the Free Software Foundation The Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to distribute and modify computer software without restriction. The FSF is incorporated in Massachusetts, USA and wrote the GNU General Public License The GNU General Public License is a widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU project. The GPL is the most popular and well-known example of the type of strong copyleft license that requires derived works to be available under the same copyleft. Under this philosophy, the GPL grants the recipients of a (GNU GPL) in 1989. By the early 1990s, many of the programs required in an operating system (such as libraries, compilers A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a computer language (the source language) into another computer language (the target language, often having a binary form known as object code). The most common reason for wanting to transform source code is to create an executable program, text editors Text editors are often provided with operating systems or software development packages, and can be used to change configuration files and programming language source code, a Unix shell A Unix shell is a command-line interpreter and script host that provides a traditional user interface for the Unix operating system and for Unix-like systems. Users direct the operation of the computer by entering command input as text for a command line interpreter to execute or by creating text scripts of one or more such commands, and a windowing system) were completed, although low-level elements such as device drivers In computing, a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device, daemons In Unix and other computer multitasking operating systems, a daemon is a computer program that runs in the background, rather than under the direct control of a user; they are usually initiated as background processes. Typically daemons have names that end with the letter "d": for example, syslogd, the daemon that handles the system log,, and the kernel In computing, the kernel is the central component of most computer operating systems. Its responsibilities include managing the system's resources . As a basic component of an operating system, a kernel provides the lowest-level abstraction layer for the resources (especially memory, processors and I/O devices) that application software must were stalled and incomplete.[11] Linus Torvalds has said that if the GNU kernel had been available at the time (1991), he would not have decided to write his own.[12]

MINIX

In 1991 while attending the University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available. Around 38,000 students (including 5,500 post-graduate students) are currently enrolled in the, Torvalds began to work on a non-commercial replacement for MINIX MINIX is a Unix-like computer operating system based on a microkernel architecture. Andrew S. Tanenbaum wrote the operating system to be used for educational purposes; MINIX also inspired the creation of the Linux kernel. Its name derives from the words minimal and Unix,[13] which would eventually become the Linux kernel The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by a family of Unix-like operating systems. The term Linux distribution is used to refer to the various operating systems that run on top of the Linux Kernel.

Linux was dependent on the MINIX user space at first. With code from the GNU system freely available, it was advantageous if this could be used with the fledgling OS. Code licensed under the GNU GPL can be used in other projects, so long as they also are released under the same or a compatible license. In order to make the Linux kernel compatible with the components from the GNU Project, Torvalds initiated a switch from his original license (which prohibited commercial redistribution) to the GNU GPL.[14] Developers worked to integrate GNU components with Linux to make a fully functional and free operating system.[11]

Commercial and popular uptake

Main article: Linux adoption Linux adoption is new use of the Linux operating system by homes, organizations, companies, and governments, while Linux migration refers to the change from using other operating systems to using Linux

Today Linux distributions are used in numerous domains, from embedded systems An embedded system is a special-purpose computer system designed to perform one or a few dedicated functions, often with real-time computing constraints. It is usually embedded as part of a complete device including hardware and mechanical parts. In contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal computer, can do many different tasks to supercomputers A supercomputer is a computer that is at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation. Supercomputers introduced in the 1960s were designed primarily by Seymour Cray at Control Data Corporation , and led the market into the 1970s until Cray left to form his own company, Cray Research,[15][16] and have secured a place in server A server is any combination of hardware or software designed to provide services to clients. When used alone, the term typically refers to a computer which may be running a server operating system, but is commonly used to refer to any software or dedicated hardware capable of providing services installations with the popular LAMP The acronym LAMP refers to a solution stack of software, usually free and open source software, used to run dynamic Web sites or servers. The original expansion is as follows: application stack.[17] Use of Linux distributions in home and enterprise desktops has been expanding.[18][19][20][21][22][23][24] They have also gained popularity with various local and national governments. The federal government of Brazil is well known for its support for Linux.[25][26] News of the Russian military creating their own Linux distribution has also surfaced.[27] India India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east, India has a coastline of 7,517 has gone so far as to make it mandatory for all state high schools to run Linux on their computers.[28] China b. ^ Information for mainland China only. The Special Administrative Regions of the PRC: Hong Kong, Macau are excluded. In addition, the territories under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, are also excluded uses Linux exclusively as the operating system for its Loongson processor family to achieve technology independence. [29] France France ( /ˈfræns/ or /ˈfrɑːns/; French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, French pronunciation: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean and Germany Germany /ˈdʒɜrməni/ , officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland (help·info), IPA: [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant]), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and have also taken steps towards the adoption of Linux.[30]

Linux distributions have also become popular with the newly founded netbook According to Deloitte, as of the start of 2009, the established definition of a netbook was a notebook computer with a low-powered x86-compatible processor , small screen (no larger than 10 inches), (usually) small keyboard, equipped with wireless connectivity, lightweight (under three pounds/1.3 kilograms) and no optical disk drive. Netbooks are market, with many devices such as the ASUS Eee PC The Asus Eee PC is a subnotebook/netbook computer by Asus and a part of the Asus Eee product family. At the time of its introduction in late 2007, it was noted for its combination of a light weight, Linux operating system, solid-state drive and relatively low cost. Newer models have added the option of Windows XP operating system and traditional and Acer Aspire One Acer Aspire One is a line of subcompact notebook computers, or netbooks, released in July 2008 by Acer Inc. It is based on the Intel Atom platform, which consists of the Intel Atom N270 processor, Intel 945GSE Express chipset and Intel 82801GBM I/O controller. The line is manufactured for Acer Inc. by Quanta Computer, and is available in several shipping with customized Linux distributions pre-installed.

Current development

Torvalds continues to direct the development of the kernel. Stallman heads the Free Software Foundation, which in turn supports the GNU components. Finally, individuals and corporations develop third-party non-GNU components. These third-party components comprise a vast body of work and may include both kernel modules and user applications and libraries. Linux vendors and communities combine and distribute the kernel, GNU components, and non-GNU components, with additional package management software in the form of Linux distributions A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like software distributions built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions (often called distros for short) consist of a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players and database applications. The operating system will consist of the.

For the 2.6.29 release only, the kernel's mascot The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fictional spokespeople for consumer products, such as, a penguin named Tux Tux is the official mascot of the Linux kernel. Originally created as an entry to a Linux logo competition, the image of the mascot is the most commonly used icon for Linux, used in many flavors showing Tux in one way or another. He is also used in many Linux games, which are usually look-alikes from other mainstream games, has been temporarily replaced by Tuz in order to highlight efforts to save the Tasmanian Devil The Tasmanian Devil is a carnivorous marsupial now found in the wild only in the Australian island state of Tasmania. The Tasmanian Devil is the only extant member of the genus Sarcophilus. The size of a small dog, but stocky and muscular, the Tasmanian Devil is now the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world after the extinction of the from extinction.[31]

Design

A Linux-based system is a modular Unix-like A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification operating system. It derives much of its basic design from principles established in Unix during the 1970s and 1980s. Such a system uses a monolithic kernel, the Linux kernel The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by a family of Unix-like operating systems. The term Linux distribution is used to refer to the various operating systems that run on top of the Linux Kernel, which handles process control, networking, and peripheral A peripheral is a device attached to a host computer behind the chipset whose primary functionality is dependent upon the host, and can therefore be considered as expanding the hosts capabilities, while not forming part of the system's core architecture and file system In computing, a file system is a method for storing and organizing computer files and the data they contain to make it easy to find and access them. File systems may use a data storage device such as a hard disk or CD-ROM and involve maintaining the physical location of the files, they might provide access to data on a file server by acting as access. Device drivers In computing, a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device are integrated directly with the kernel.

Separate projects that interface with the kernel provide much of the system's higher-level functionality. The GNU userland In operating systems, userland refers to an application space that is external to the kernel and is protected by privilege separation. More specifically, it can refer to the set of libraries provided by the operating system for performing input/output or otherwise interacting with the kernel and is often used interchangeably with user space in is an important part of most Linux-based systems, providing the most common implementation of the C library The C standard library consists of a set of sections of the ISO C standard which describe a collection of header files and library routines used to implement common operations, such as input/output and string handling, in the C programming language. The C standard library is an interface standard described by a document; it is not an actual, a popular shell In computing, a shell is a piece of software that provides an interface for users. Typically, the term refers to an operating system shell which provides access to the services of a kernel. However, the term is also applied very loosely to applications and may include any software that is "built around" a particular component, such as, and many of the common Unix tools This is a list of UNIX utilities as specified by IEEE Std 1003.1-2004, which is part of the Single UNIX Specification . These utilities can be found on UNIX Operating systems and most UNIX-like operating systems which carry out many basic operating system tasks. The graphical user interface A graphical user interface is a type of user interface which allows people to interact with electronic devices such as computers; hand-held devices such as MP3 Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment with images rather than text commands. A GUI offers graphical icons, and visual indicators, as (or GUI) used by most Linux systems is based on the X Window System The X Window System is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for networked computers, and was initially developed as part of Project Athena. It implements the X display protocol and provides windowing on raster graphics (bitmap) computer displays and manages keyboard and pointing device.

User interface

See also: User interface The user interface (also known as Human Computer Interface or Man-Machine Interface ) is the aggregate of means by which people—the users—interact with the system—a particular machine, device, computer program or other complex tool. The user interface provides means of:

Users can control a Linux-based system through a command line interface A command-line interface is a mechanism for interacting with a computer operating system or software by typing commands to perform specific tasks. This text-only interface contrasts with the use of a mouse pointer with a graphical user interface (GUI) to click on options, or menus on a text user interface (TUI) to select options (or CLI), a graphical user interface A graphical user interface is a type of user interface which allows people to interact with electronic devices such as computers; hand-held devices such as MP3 Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment with images rather than text commands. A GUI offers graphical icons, and visual indicators, as (or GUI), or through controls attached to the associated hardware (this is common for embedded systems). For desktop systems, the default mode is usually graphical user interface (or GUI).

On desktop machines, KDE KDE (pronounced /ˌkeɪdiːˈiː/) is a free software project based around its flagship product, a desktop environment mainly for Unix-like systems. The goal of the project is to provide basic desktop functions and applications for daily needs as well as tools and documentation for developers to write stand-alone applications for the system. In, GNOME GNOME is a desktop environment—the graphical user interface which runs on top of a computer operating system—composed entirely of free software. It is an international project that includes creating software development frameworks, selecting application software for the desktop, and working on the programs which manage application launching, and Xfce Xfce is a free software desktop environment for Unix and other Unix-like platforms, such as Linux, Solaris and BSD. It aims to be fast and lightweight, while still being visually appealing and easy to use are the most popular user interfaces,[32] though a variety of additional user interfaces exist. Most popular user interfaces run on top of the X Window System The X Window System is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for networked computers, and was initially developed as part of Project Athena. It implements the X display protocol and provides windowing on raster graphics (bitmap) computer displays and manages keyboard and pointing device (or X), which provides network transparency Network Transparency in its most general sense refers to the ability of a protocol to transmit data over the network in a manner which is transparent to those using the applications that are using the protocol, enabling a graphical application running on one machine to be displayed and controlled from another.

Other GUIs include X window managers An X window manager is a window manager which runs on top of the X Window System, a windowing system mainly used on Unix-like systems such as FVWM The F Virtual Window Manager is a virtual window manager for the X Window system. Originally a twm derivative, FVWM has evolved into a powerful and highly configurable environment for UNIX systems, Enlightenment Enlightenment, also known simply as E, is a window manager for the X Window System which can be used alone or in conjunction with a desktop environment such as GNOME or KDE. Enlightenment is often used as a substitute for a full desktop environment and Window Maker Window Maker is a window manager for the X Window System, allowing graphical applications to be run on Unix-like operating-systems. It is designed to emulate NeXT's GUI as an OpenStep-compatible environment and has been described as "one of the most useful and universal window managers available." Window Maker is released under the GNU. The window manager provides a means to control the placement and appearance of individual application windows, and interacts with the X window system.

A Linux system typically provides a CLI of some sort through a shell In computing, a shell is a piece of software that provides an interface for users. Typically, the term refers to an operating system shell which provides access to the services of a kernel. However, the term is also applied very loosely to applications and may include any software that is "built around" a particular component, such as, which is the traditional way of interacting with a Unix system. A Linux distribution specialized for servers may use the CLI as its only interface. A “headless system” run without even a monitor can be controlled by the command line via a remote-control protocol such as SSH Secure Shell or SSH is a network protocol that allows data to be exchanged using a secure channel between two networked devices. Used primarily on Linux and Unix based systems to access shell accounts, SSH was designed as a replacement for Telnet and other insecure remote shells, which send information, notably passwords, in plaintext, leaving or telnet Telnet is a network protocol used on the Internet or local area networks to provide a bidirectional interactive communications facility. Typically, telnet provides access to a command-line interface on a remote host via a virtual terminal connection which consists of an 8-bit byte oriented data connection over the Transmission Control Protocol (.

Most low-level Linux components, including the GNU Userland In operating systems, userland refers to an application space that is external to the kernel and is protected by privilege separation. More specifically, it can refer to the set of libraries provided by the operating system for performing input/output or otherwise interacting with the kernel and is often used interchangeably with user space in, use the CLI exclusively. The CLI is particularly suited for automation of repetitive or delayed tasks, and provides very simple inter-process communication Inter-process communication is a set of techniques for the exchange of data among multiple threads in one or more processes. Processes may be running on one or more computers connected by a network. IPC techniques are divided into methods for message passing, synchronization, shared memory, and remote procedure calls (RPC). The method of IPC used. A graphical terminal emulator A terminal emulator, terminal application, term, or tty for short, is a program that emulates a "dumb" video terminal within some other display architecture. Though typically synonymous with a command line shell or text terminal, the term terminal covers all remote terminals, including graphical interfaces. A terminal emulator inside a program is often used to access the CLI from a Linux desktop.

Development

Main article: Linux distribution A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like software distributions built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions (often called distros for short) consist of a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players and database applications. The operating system will consist of the A summarized history of Unix-like A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification operating systems showing Linux's origins. Note that despite similar architectural designs and concepts being shared as part of the POSIX POSIX or "Portable Operating System Interface for Unix" is the name of a family of related standards specified by the IEEE to define the application programming interface (API), along with shell and utilities interfaces for software compatible with variants of the Unix operating system, although the standard can apply to any operating standard, Linux does not share any non-free source code with the original Unix Unix is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna. Today's Unix systems are split into various branches, developed over time by AT&T as well as various commercial vendors and non-profit organizations or Minix.

The primary difference between Linux and many other popular contemporary operating systems is that the Linux kernel and other components are free and open source software. Linux is not the only such operating system, although it is by far the most widely used. Some free and open source software licenses are based on the principle of copyleft, a kind of reciprocity: any work derived from a copyleft piece of software must also be copyleft itself. The most common free software license, the GNU GPL, is a form of copyleft, and is used for the Linux kernel and many of the components from the GNU project.

Linux based distributions are intended by developers for interoperability with other operating systems and established computing standards. Linux systems adhere to POSIX,[33] SUS,[34] ISO and ANSI standards where possible, although to date only one Linux distribution has been POSIX.1 certified, Linux-FT.[35]

Free software projects, although developed in a collaborative fashion, are often produced independently of each other. The fact that the software licenses explicitly permit redistribution, however, provides a basis for larger scale projects that collect the software produced by stand-alone projects and make it available all at once in the form of a Linux distribution.

A Linux distribution, commonly called a "distro", is a project that manages a remote collection of system software and application software packages available for download and installation through a network connection. This allows the user to adapt the operating system to his/her specific needs. Distributions are maintained by individuals, loose-knit teams, volunteer organizations, and commercial entities. A distribution can be installed using a CD that contains distribution-specific software for initial system installation and configuration. A package manager such as Synaptic allows later package upgrades and installs. A distribution is responsible for the default configuration of the installed Linux kernel, general system security, and more generally integration of the different software packages into a coherent whole.

Community

See also: Free software community and Linux Users Group

A distribution is largely driven by its developer and user communities. Some vendors develop and fund their distributions on a volunteer basis, Debian being a well-known example. Others maintain a community version of their commercial distributions, as Red Hat does with Fedora.

In many cities and regions, local associations known as Linux Users Groups (LUGs) seek to promote their preferred distribution and by extension free software. They hold meetings and provide free demonstrations, training, technical support, and operating system installation to new users. Many Internet communities also provide support to Linux users and developers. Most distributions and free software / open source projects have IRC chatrooms or newsgroups. Online forums are another means for support, with notable examples being LinuxQuestions.org and the Gentoo forums. Linux distributions host mailing lists; commonly there will be a specific topic such as usage or development for a given list.

There are several technology websites with a Linux focus. Print magazines on Linux often include cover disks including software or even complete Linux distributions.[36][37]

Although Linux distributions are generally available without charge, several large corporations sell, support, and contribute to the development of the components of the system and of free software. These include Dell, IBM, HP, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Novell, Nokia. A number of corporations, notably Red Hat, have built their entire business around Linux distributions.

The free software licenses, on which the various software packages of a distribution built on the Linux kernel are based, explicitly accommodate and encourage commercialization; the relationship between a Linux distribution as a whole and individual vendors may be seen as symbiotic. One common business model of commercial suppliers is charging for support, especially for business users. A number of companies also offer a specialized business version of their distribution, which adds proprietary support packages and tools to administer higher numbers of installations or to simplify administrative tasks. Another business model is to give away the software in order to sell hardware.

Programming on Linux

Most Linux distributions support dozens of programming languages. The most common collection of utilities for building both Linux applications and operating system programs is found within the GNU toolchain, which includes the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and the GNU build system. Amongst others, GCC provides compilers for Ada, C, C++, Java, and Fortran. The Linux kernel itself is written to be compiled with GCC. Proprietary compilers for Linux include the Intel C++ Compiler, Sun Studio, and IBM XL C/C++ Compiler.

Most distributions also include support for Perl, Ruby, Python and other dynamic languages. Examples of languages that are less common, but still supported, are C# via the Mono project, sponsored by Novell, and Scheme. A number of Java Virtual Machines and development kits run on Linux, including the original Sun Microsystems JVM (HotSpot), and IBM's J2SE RE, as well as many open-source projects like Kaffe.

The two main frameworks for developing graphical applications are those of GNOME and KDE. These projects are based on the GTK+ and Qt widget toolkits, respectively, which can also be used independently of the larger framework. Both support a wide variety of languages. There are a number of Integrated development environments available including Anjuta, Code::Blocks, Eclipse, KDevelop, Lazarus, MonoDevelop, NetBeans, and Omnis Studio while the long-established editors Vim and Emacs remain popular.[38]

Uses

The Linux kernel can run on Windows (with CoLinux)[39]

As well as those designed for general purpose use on desktops and servers, distributions may be specialized for different purposes including: computer architecture support, embedded systems, stability, security, localization to a specific region or language, targeting of specific user groups, support for real-time applications, or commitment to a given desktop environment. Furthermore, some distributions deliberately include only free software. Currently, over three hundred distributions are actively developed, with about a dozen distributions being most popular for general-purpose use.[40]

Linux is a widely ported operating system kernel. The Linux kernel runs on a highly diverse range of computer architectures: in the hand-held ARM-based iPAQ and the mainframe IBM System z9, in devices ranging from mobile phones to supercomputers.[41] Specialized distributions exist for less mainstream architectures. The ELKS kernel fork can run on Intel 8086 or Intel 80286 16-bit microprocessors, while the µClinux kernel fork may run on systems without a memory management unit. The kernel also runs on architectures that were only ever intended to use a manufacturer-created operating system, such as Macintosh computers (with both PowerPC and Intel processors), PDAs, video game consoles, portable music players, and mobile phones.

Desktop

Ubuntu: currently the most popular desktop Linux distribution.[42][43] Debian 4.0 using the GNOME desktop Fedora 10, another popular Linux desktop distribution Main article: Desktop Linux

The popularity of Linux on standard desktops (and laptops) has been increasing over the years. Currently most distributions include a graphical user environment. The two most popular such environments GNOME and KDE, both of which are mature, and support a wide variety of languages.

In the past, the performance of Linux on the desktop has been a controversial topic; for example in 2007 Con Kolivas accused the Linux community of favoring performance on servers. He quit Linux kernel development because he was frustrated with this lack of focus on the desktop, and then gave a "tell all" interview on the topic.[44] However since then significant effort has been expended improving the desktop experience. For example, projects such as upstart aim for a faster boot time.[45] In the field of gaming, the Linux desktop still lags behind Windows, [46] however there are several companies that do port their own or other companies games to Linux.

Many types of applications available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X are also available for Linux. Commonly, either a free software application will exist which does the functions of an application found on another operating systems, or that application will, in fact, work on Linux (such as Skype). Furthermore, the Wine project provides a Windows compatibility layer to run unmodified Windows applications on Linux. CrossOver is a proprietary solution based on the open source Wine project that supports running Windows versions of Microsoft Office, Intuit applications such as Quicken and QuickBooks, Adobe Photoshop versions through CS2, and many popular games such as World of Warcraft and Team Fortress 2. In other cases, although there is no Linux port of some software in areas such as desktop publishing[47] and professional audio,[48][49][50] there is equivalent software available on Linux.

Many popular applications work on a wide variety of operating systems. For example Mozilla Firefox, and OpenOffice.org work on all major operating systems. Furthermore, some applications were initially developed for Linux (such as Pidgin, and GIMP) and, due to their popularity, were ported to other operating systems (including Windows and Mac OS X).

A growing number of proprietary desktop applications are also supported on Linux,[51] see List of proprietary software for Linux. In the field of animation and visual effects, most high end software, such as AutoDesk Maya, Softimage XSI and Apple Shake, is available for Linux, Windows and/or Mac OS X.

The collaborative nature of free software development allows distributed teams to localize Linux distributions for use in locales where localizing proprietary systems would not be cost-effective. For example the Sinhalese language version of the Knoppix distribution was available significantly before Microsoft Windows XP was translated to Sinhalese.[citation needed] In this case the Lanka Linux User Group played a major part in developing the localized system by combining the knowledge of university professors, linguists, and local developers.

To install new software in Windows, users either download a digital distribution or use a traditional installation medium (such as CD-ROM). Both of these methods usually provide a "Software Installation Wizard" to guide the user through the setup. On most Linux distributions, there are utilities for browsing a list of thousands of applications installed with a single click. Some of these programs are the Synaptic Package Manager, PackageKit, and Yum Extender. However, installing software not in the official repositories is not always easy, and sometimes the only option is to compile from source.

Servers and supercomputers

Servers designed for Linux

Historically, Linux distributions have mainly been used as server operating systems, and have risen to prominence in that area; Netcraft reported in September 2006 that eight of the ten most reliable internet hosting companies ran Linux distributions on their web servers.[52] (As of June 2008, Linux distributions represented five of ten, FreeBSD three of ten, and Microsoft two of ten.[53])

Components of IBM Roadrunner, the world's fastest supercomputer 2008, which runs Linux.[54]

Linux distributions are the cornerstone of the LAMP server-software combination (Linux, Apache, MySQL, Perl/PHP/Python) which has achieved popularity among developers, and which is one of the more common platforms for website hosting.

Linux distributions are also commonly used as operating systems for supercomputers: as of November 2008, out of the top 500 systems, 439 (87.8%) run a Linux distribution.[54]

Embedded devices

See also: Embedded Linux and Linux devices Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 running OpenZaurus and OPIE, with docking cradle and stylus

Due to its low cost and ability to be easily modified, an embedded Linux is often used in embedded systems. Linux has become a major competitor to the proprietary Symbian OS found in the majority of smartphones—16.7% of smartphones sold worldwide during 2006 were using Linux[55]—and it is an alternative to the proprietary Windows CE and Palm OS operating systems on mobile devices. Cell phones or PDAs running on Linux and built on open source platform became a trend from 2007, like Nokia N810, Openmoko's Neo1973, Motorola RAZR2 v8, Motorola ROKR E8, Motorola MING series, Motorola ZINE and the on-going Google Android. The popular TiVo digital video recorder uses a customized version of Linux.[56] Several network firewall and router standalone products, including several from Linksys, use Linux internally, using its advanced firewall and routing capabilities. The Korg OASYS and the Yamaha Motif XS music workstations also run Linux.[57] Furthermore, Linux is used in the leading stage lighting control system, FlyingPig/HighEnd WholeHogIII Console.[58]

Market share and uptake

Main article: Linux adoption

Many quantitative studies of free / open source software focus on topics including market share and reliability, with numerous studies specifically examining Linux.[59] The Linux market is growing rapidly, and the revenue of servers, desktops, and packaged software running Linux was expected to exceed $35.7 billion by 2008.[60]

IDC's report for Q1 2007 says that Linux now holds 12.7% of the overall server market.[61] This estimate was based on the number of Linux servers sold by various companies. Although, with web servers that do not belong to companies, i.e. personal web servers and blog sites, the percentage of overall market share is higher than that of the Microsoft web server.[citation needed]

Estimates for the desktop market share of Linux range from less than one percent to almost two percent. In comparison, Microsoft operating systems hold more than 90%.[18][19][20][21][22][23][24]

The frictional cost of switching operating systems and lack of support for certain hardware and application programs designed for Microsoft Windows have been two factors that have inhibited adoption. Proponents and analysts attribute the relative success of Linux to its security, reliability,[62] low cost, and freedom from vendor lock-in.[63]

Also most recently Google has begun to fund Wine, which acts as a compatibility layer, allowing users to run some Windows programs under Linux.[64][65]

The XO laptop project of One Laptop Per Child is creating a new and potentially much larger Linux community, planned to reach several hundred million schoolchildren and their families and communities in developing countries.[66] Six countries have ordered a million or more units each for delivery in 2007 to distribute to schoolchildren at no charge. Google, Red Hat, and eBay are major supporters of the project.[67] While the XO will also have a Windows option, it will be primarily deployed using Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

In the film industry, Linux has been the platform of choice for several years. The first major film produced on Linux servers was Titanic in 1997. Since then major studios like Dreamworks Animation, Pixar and Industrial Light & Magic have moved to Linux.[68][69] Currently more than 95% of the servers and desktops at large animation and visual effects companies use Linux.[70]

See also: Usage share of desktop operating systems and List of Linux computers

Copyright and naming

The Linux kernel and most GNU software are licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). The GPL requires that anyone who distributes the Linux kernel must make the source code (and any modifications) available to the recipient under the same terms. In 1997, Linus Torvalds stated, “Making Linux GPL'd was definitely the best thing I ever did.”[71] Other key components of a Linux system may use other licenses; many libraries use the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), a more permissive variant of the GPL, and the X Window System uses the MIT License.

Torvalds has publicly stated that he would not move the Linux kernel (currently licensed under GPL version 2) to version 3 of the GPL, released in mid-2007, specifically citing some provisions in the new license which prohibit the use of the software in digital rights management.[72][73]

A 2001 study of Red Hat Linux 7.1 found that this distribution contained 30 million source lines of code. Using the Constructive Cost Model, the study estimated that this distribution required about eight thousand man-years of development time. According to the study, if all this software had been developed by conventional proprietary means, it would have cost about 1.08 billion dollars (year 2000 U.S. dollars) to develop in the United States.[74]

Most of the code (71%) was written in the C programming language, but many other languages were used, including C++, assembly language, Perl, Python, Fortran, and various shell scripting languages. Slightly over half of all lines of code were licensed under the GPL. The Linux kernel itself was 2.4 million lines of code, or 8% of the total.[74]

In a later study, the same analysis was performed for Debian GNU/Linux version 4.0.[75] This distribution contained over 283 million source lines of code, and the study estimated that it would have cost 5.4 billion euros to develop by conventional means.

In the United States, the name Linux is a trademark registered to Linus Torvalds.[76] Initially, nobody registered it, but on 15 August 1994, William R. Della Croce, Jr. filed for the trademark Linux, and then demanded royalties from Linux distributors. In 1996, Torvalds and some affected organizations sued him to have the trademark assigned to Torvalds, and in 1997 the case was settled.[77] The licensing of the trademark has since been handled by the Linux Mark Institute. Torvalds has stated that he trademarked the name only to prevent someone else from using it, but was bound in 2005 by United States trademark law to take active measures to enforce the trademark. As a result, the LMI sent letters to distribution vendors requesting that a fee be paid for the use of the name, and a number of companies have complied.[78]

See also: SCO-Linux controversies

GNU/Linux

Main article: GNU/Linux naming controversy

The Free Software Foundation views Linux distributions which use GNU software as GNU variants and they ask that such operating systems be referred to as GNU/Linux or a Linux-based GNU system.[79] The media and common usage, however, refers to this family of operating systems simply as Linux, as do many large Linux distributions (e.g. Ubuntu[80] and SuSE Linux). Some distributions use GNU/Linux (particularly notable is Debian GNU/Linux), but the term's use outside of the enthusiast community is limited. The naming issue remains a source of confusion to many newcomers[79], and the naming remains controversial. Linus Torvalds is against the GNU/Linux naming, stating that Linux is not a GNU project.[81]

See also

Linux portal
Free software portal

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  81. ^ Torvalds, Linus (2006-09-25). "GPLv3 Position Statement". Linux Kernel Mailing List . ORG. http://lkml.org/lkml/2006/9/25/161. Retrieved on 2009-01-05.

Further reading

External links

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The Linux operating system
General Adoption · Comparison of Windows and Linux · Criticism · GNU Project · History · Free Software Foundation · Linux Foundation · Kernel (portability) · Linus's Law · GNU/Linux naming controversy · Tux · GNU General Public License · GNU packages
Distribution Distribution (comparison) · Live CD · Live USB · Mini Linux · Package formats
Applications Desktop · Devices · Embedded · Gaming · LAMP · Thin client
People Jono Bacon · Alan Cox · Jon 'Mad Dog' Hall · Benjamin Mako Hill · Ari Lemmke · Andrew Morton · Ian Murdock · Hans Reiser · Scott James Remnant · Daniel Robbins · Mark Shuttleworth · Richard Stallman · Linus Torvalds · Theodore Ts'o · Patrick Volkerding · Matt Zimmerman
Media Free Software Magazine · Linux.com · Linux Format · Linux Gazette · Linux Journal · Linux-Magazin · Linux Magazine · LWN.net · O3 Magazine · Phoronix · LugRadio · Linux Outlaws
Lists Devices · Distributions · Live CDs
Mobile Access Linux Platform · Android · LiMo Foundation · LiMo Platform · Linux Phone Standards Forum · Maemo · Mobilinux · Moblin project · Open Handset Alliance · Openmoko · palm webOS · Ubuntu Mobile
Other topics Linux malware · Linux User Group (LUG) · Linux Standard Base · Revolution OS · SCO and Linux · Tanenbaum–Torvalds debate
Unix and Unix-like operating systems
AIX · BSD · DragonFly BSD · FreeBSD · GNU · HP-UX · IRIX · Linux · LynxOS · Mac OS X · MINIX · NetBSD · OpenBSD · Plan 9 · QNX · Research Unix · SCO OpenServer · Solaris · System V · Tru64 · VxWorks · more
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Free and open source software
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Free software portal
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Development GCC · LLVM · Java · Open64 · Perl · PHP · Python · Lua · Ruby · Tcl · libJIT
History GNU · Linux · Mozilla (Application Suite · Firefox · Thunderbird)
Organizations Apache Software Foundation · Blender Foundation · Eclipse Foundation · FLOSS Manuals · freedesktop.org · Free Software Foundation · GNOME Foundation · GNU Project · Google Code · Linux Foundation · Mozilla Foundation · Open Source Geospatial Foundation · Open Source Initiative · SourceForge · Symbian Foundation · Xiph.Org Foundation · X.Org Foundation
Licences Apache · BSD · GNU GPL · LGPL · MIT · MPL · Ms-PL/RL · FSF approved licences
Challenges Binary blob · Digital rights management · Graphics hardware compatibility · License proliferation · Mozilla software rebranding · Proprietary software · SCO-Linux controversies · Security · Software patents · Tivoization · Trusted Computing
Other topics Alternative terms · Community · Linux distribution · Forking · Movement · Microsoft Open Specification Promise · Revolution OS · Comparison with closed source
List of open source software packages
Operating system
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Kernel
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General Monolithic kernel · Microkernel
Subtypes Exokernel · Nanokernel · Hybrid
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Process management Process · Multiprogramming · Process control block · Interrupt · Modes: (Protected mode · Supervisor mode) · Computer multitasking · Scheduling · Context switch · Cooperative multitasking · Preemptive multitasking · CPU modes · Thread
Memory management Memory protection · Segmentation · Paging · Segmentation fault · General protection fault · Bus error
Examples AmigaOS 4 · BeOS · IBM OS/2 · MS-DOS · Windows · Linux · UNIX · OpenSolaris · Mac OS X · ReactOS · more…
Miscellaneous concepts Boot loader · PXE · API · Virtual file system · Virtual tape library · Computer network · CLI · TUI · GUI · HAL

Categories: Linux distributions | Linux | Computing platforms | Cross-platform software

 

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