Into_to_linux101

Linux History

Linux is an open source computer operating system, initially developed on and for Intel x86-based personal computers. It has been subsequently ported to an astoundingly long list of other hardware platforms, from tiny embedded appliances to the world's largest supercomputers.

Linus Torvalds was a student in Helsinki, Finland, in 1991, when he started a project: writing his own operating system kernel. He also collected together and/or developed the other essential ingredients required to construct an entire operating system with his kernel at the center. It wasn't long before this became known as the Linux kernel.
 In 1992, Linux was re-licensed using the General Public License (GPL) by GNU (a project of the Free Software Foundation or FSF, which promotes freely available software), which made it possible to build a worldwide community of developers. By combining the kernel with other system components from the GNU project, numerous other developers created complete systems called Linux distributions in the mid-90’s.
        
 

Linux Philosophy 

Every successful project or organization needs an implicit or explicit philosophy that frames its objectives and projects its growth path. This section contains a description of the "Linux philosophy" and how it has impacted Linux's amazing evolution.
Linux is constantly enhanced and maintained by a network of developers from all over the world collaborating over the Internet, with Linus Torvalds at the head. Technical skill, a desire to contribute, and the ability to collaborate with others are the only qualifications for participating.

Linux borrows heavily from the well-established UNIX operating system. It was written to be a free and open source system to be used in place of UNIX, which at the time was designed for computers much more powerful than PCs and was quite expensive. Files are stored in a hierarchical filesystem, with the top node of the system being the root or simply "/". Whenever possible, Linux makes its components available via files or objects that look like files. Processes, devices, and network sockets are all represented by file-like objects, and can often be worked with using the same utilities used for regular files. Linux is a fully multitasking (i.e. multiple threads of execution are performed simultaneously), multiuser operating system, with built-in networking and service processes known as daemons in the UNIX world.

Note: Linux was inspired by UNIX, but it is not UNIX.  

 Linux Terminology

when you start exploring linux you will soon come across some terms which may be unfamiliar, such as distribution , boot loader , desktop environment, etc. Before we proceed further , let’s stop and take a look at some basic terminology used in linux to help you get up to speed.

                            
              Kernel            
              Distribution  { Ubuntu, Radhat , CentOS etc... }
              boot loader   { GRUB , ISOLinux  }
              service           { ftp , httpd , ftpd , named etc..}
              filesystem           
              X windows system  
              Desktop environment
              command line