Linux - a Free Open Source Operating System

ABSTRACT

Linux is a free open source operating system based on UNIX. It was developed by Linus Corvalds. UNIX system was developed by bell laboratories. Bell laboratories never released the source code of UNIX. To make it affordable by common people Linus Corvalds developed Linux as an open source operating system. After its inception Linux became known to common people. Linux is the only system which covers a wide range of hardware applications. It covers small gadgets like cell phones to big servers maintained by U.S post office. Linux is multi-user and multi tasking. Different people can operate from different terminals and can perform multiple tasks at the same time. Linux is free, secure, scalable, and can run all the time with out rebooting. It is easy to connect and disconnect with the help of simple commands and passwords. In Linux system everything is a file. It makes it easier to manipulate the data in the files. Important files of the Linux system are kernel, the shell and the home directory. In Linux system the hard disk can be partitioned into different parts ensuring the safety of the files and its data. Linux supports most of the available protocols in the market.

Linux is a computer operating system and its kernel. Linux is a free open source operating system based on UNIX. Linux was originally created by Linus Corvalds with the assistance of developers from around the glob. Linux is a freeware version of UNIX. It is becoming popular and powerful and also it cost less to operating systems for running servers. ( thinkquest 2000)

Thirty year ago the computers were very big and slow. Each computer was software specific. Software works on one machine but will not run on another machine. All these software were written in machine language. To over come these problems the developers in bell labs laboratories starting working on a solution for the software problem in 1969. They developed a new operating system called UNIX in 1971. UNIX was simple and elegant, was written in c language and was able to recycle the code. UNIX is developed around a specific piece of code which is commonly known as kernel. Kernel forms the base of unix system. The operating system was developed around this kernel and written in higher programming language C. (Machtelt Garrels)

UNIX of SOLARIX:

Recently the UNIX of sun solarix was made open source software and free to download at sun.com. This open source code is available under the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL). This open source license allows developers to safely create innovative new solutions for distribution under their own terms. Open source code helps the user utilize the system resources effectively and helps quickly diagnose and resolve system problems. User can change to code to suite their needs. In the near future this operating system will replace windows and NT's. (Sun Microsystems)

Linux is open source version of UNIX. Linus Torvalds developed Linux in 1991. Linux was released on the internet for free. Linux is a part of GNU software from the beginning. From 1991, Linux became hackers' web pages replacing windows and the expensive UNIX system. When red hat released its version of Linux, majority of people became aware of Linux and its capabilities. Number of PC's with Linux system increased as well business used it for their networking. Since its inception Linux actively participate in the open source software movement. ( thinkquest 2000)

Current applications of Linux have grown quite a bit in recent years. Linux has joined the desk top market. Linux is applicable in networking services and office applications. Linux have easy user interface and it is compatible with word processors, spreadsheets, presentations, and etc. Linux have applications on server side also. Companies like Amazon and U.S. post office uses Linux servers. Linux system has been used for creating the special effects for the movies like Titanic and Shrek. In search engines Linux clusters are used to perform internet searches. Linux system also works on small gadgets like PDA's, mobile phones, and even on wrist watches. Linux is the only system now which covers a wide range of hardware in the world. (Machtelt Garrels)

Linux is multi-user and multitasking operating system. Several users can be logged into the system at the same time on different terminals. On Linux one can perform different task at the same time. For example you can download a file from the internet and at the same time you can have the system search for a file or can execute some command. Since it is multi-user it has to be multitasking so that different users can perform different tasks at the same time from different terminals. Linux is good at managing different request to the system by different users at the same time. Linux also protects different users from interfering with one other and also it safeguards the system from damage by users. (Machtelt Garrels)

Linux is free. It can be downloaded completely from the internet for free. No registration fees, free updates, and freely available source code in case you want to change the behavior of your system.

Linux can work on any hardware platform. Linux kernel works with any hardware like washing machine, CPU of your car etc. Linux can run all the time with out rebooting. Most of the other operating systems needs to be rebooted but Linux can work non stop. Linux performs lot of task at a calm time when the system is not in use so that system is available fresh all the time. Linux is secure and versatile. It is safe against all kinds of internet attacks. Linux is scalable and can fit into any type of hardware. ( suncoast 1997-2005)

There are far too many distributors. It confusing sometimes. Linux is not user friendly and can be confusing for the beginners. There is a lot of doubt about Linux system since it is an open source code. No one is responsible if things go wrong. ( suncoast 1997-2005)

Linux starts from your hard drive or from a boot floppy disk. Once the Linux is on it ask for login, which looks like dark star login:

In login it asks for username and password. Once you done with it let you log in to the system. To disconnect there are different ways to do so. Ctrl+Alt+Delete is the most easiest way of disconnecting the Linux system. There are other commands that can shut down the Linux system. These commands depend on the version of the Linux system. Frequently used commands to shut down the system are shutdown, haltsys, and fasthalt. Among them shutdown is the most frequently used command. The shutdown command allows you to specify parameters for shutting down the Linux such as amount of time before shut down and amount of time before