What is Linux?

What is Linux Operating System?

The Linux operating system is a set of programs which acts as a link between the computer and the end user.

The computer programs that allocate the system resources and coordinate all the details of the computer's internals is called the Operating System or the Kernel.

Why Linux Operating System?

Linux was developed to be used as an alternative to other existing but expansive operating systems specially Unix, Windows, Mac OS, MS-DOS, Solaris and others. When Linus Torvalds was studying at the University of Helsinki, he decided to create his own operating system and keep it as Open Sources so that users from around the world can contribute their suggestions for improvements of the system.

  • Linus Torvalds developed his own kernel and a few programs around it in 1991 which later became a full flagged Operating System and soon it was accepted widely by the Computer Engineers in Corporates, Universities and other Institutes.

  • Today Linux is one of the most widely used Operating Systems and it come in various variants like Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora, Debian, openSUSE, RedHat, MX Linux, Arch Linux, Gentoo etc.

  • Several people can use a Unix computer at the same time; hence Unix is called a multiuser system.

  • A user can also run multiple programs at the same time; hence Unix is a multitasking environment.

What is Linux Shell?

Users communicate with the Kernel through a program known as the shell. The shell is a command line interpreter; it translates commands entered by the user and converts them into a language that is understood by the kernel.

Linux Architecture

Here is a basic block diagram of a Linux system −

Linux Architecture

The main concept that unites all the versions of Linux is the following four basics −

  • Kernel − The kernel is the heart of the Linux operating system. It interacts with the hardware and most of the tasks like memory management, task scheduling and file management.

  • Shell − The shell is the utility that processes your requests. When you type in a command at your terminal, the shell interprets the command and calls the program that you want. The shell uses standard syntax for all commands. C Shell, Bourne Shell and Korn Shell are the most famous shells which are available with most of the Unix variants.

  • Commands and Utilities − There are various commands and utilities which you can make use of in your day to day activities. ftp, ssh, cp, mv, cat and grep, etc. are few examples of commands and utilities. There are over 250 standard commands plus numerous others provided through 3rd party software. All the commands come along with various options.

  • Files and Directories − All the data of Unix is organized into files. All files are then organized into directories. These directories are further organized into a tree-like structure called the filesystem.

Linux Applications

Linux is an open-source operating system widely used in servers, web servers, supercomputers, and embedded systems etc. The best part of the Linux system is that you will find a vast range of free and open-source software applications.

This section lists a few important software applications freely available on Linux Operating System:

  • VLC Media Player - VLC Media Player is a free and open-source media player software that can play almost all types of media files, including audio and video. VLC media player is widely regarded as one of the best media players in the market.

  • GNU Image Manipulation Program - GIMP is a free and open-source image editing program that can be used for tasks ranging from image retouching to graphic design. GIMP provides great functionality for image manipulation, color correction, cloning, and selection. It also supports layers, masks, and channels, allowing for more advanced editing techniques.

  • FileZilla - FileZilla is a free and open-source FTP client that transfers files between a local computer and a remote server. It is known for its easy and user-friendly interface and ease of use to transfer files between two computers.

  • Web Servers - The most frequent application of Linux is to use it like a Web Server. There are several web server softwares (Apache, NGinx etc) available which can be installed and use on Linux.

  • Web Browsers - Linux provides an easy way to browse the Internet with the help of various Web Browsers. Firefox is the default browser for various Linux distributions such as Linux Mint and Ubuntu.

  • LibreOffice - LibreOffice is free and an open source software which provides a great alternative for office suites. LibreOffice supports various file formats such as DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLSX, etc.

  • Vim - This is one of the best text Editor available on Linux. This is loved by millions of software developers around the world.

Linux Licensing

Linux is one of the most suitable examples of free and open-source software applciation. Linux source code may be used, modified, and distributed commercially or non-commercially by anyone under the terms of its respective licenses, such as the GNU General Public License (GPL).

The Linux kernel is licensed under the GPLv2, with an exception for system calls that allows code that calls the kernel via system calls not to be licensed under the GPL

The GPL terms allows anybody to redistribute, and sell a software product covered by the GPL, as long as the recipient is allowed to rebuild an exact copy of the binary files from source.

The GNU General Public License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free software to make sure the software is free for all its users.

Linux is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL), which is a free software license that grants users the freedom to run, study, share, and modify the software.

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