Linux

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