Linux has been popular for years with system administrators who are responsible for running large networks and servers because of its robustness, scalability, and flexibility. For a long time, it was seen as a geek’s system–too complicated for ordinary folks. But Linux has matured, and with today’s desktop environments like KDE and GNOME, and new user-friendly installations, Linux is finally coming into its own as a desktop system as well.
The name Linux is used in three different ways. First, Linux is the kernel, the heart of the operating system. Strictly speaking, this is the true meaning of Linux. The kernel sits at the lowest level and manages the hardware. If a running program wants to interact with the hardware, for example to print a document, it doesn’t communicate directly with the printer, but with the kernel, which then manages the printer. In addition to managing peripheral devices like the printer, keyboard, and mouse, the kernel controls the hard drive, memory usage, concurrent program execution, networking, and system security.
Linux also refers to the operating system. The kernel alone isn’t enough to provide a functional computer system; it provides the foundation, and the operating system adds the tools to make the system usable. As an operating system, Linux consists of the kernel, plus an extensive set of libraries, compilers and debuggers, system utilities and programs, as well as one or more command shells. In other words, the operating system provides the tools for programming and for managing the system. Most of the tools were developed by the GNU project of the Free Software Foundation (FSF), and they provide enhanced versions of the traditional Unix equivalents. Some others came from BSD Unix, developed originally at the University of California at Berkeley.
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