Linux Operating System - History of Linux

Linux has probably the world’s most ardent followers and is gaining wide spread acceptance as the leading server Operating system. Linux operating system is best defined as a clone of the Unix operating system, written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with active assistance from a loosely knit team of hackers across the Net – as per the Linux Kernel website. It aims towards POSIX and single UNIX specification compliance. It derives most of its commands from UNIX and includes all UNIX standard tools and utilities.

The Linux operating system was initially a freely distributable UNIX clone written to support platforms enabled with Intel processors. It was designed to utilize the hardware facilities of the 80386, 80486 and Pentium chips. Today Linux can run on any general-purpose computer ranging from small PDAs to the large IBM mainframes.

Linux is a highly functional multi-platform operating system that is exceedingly adaptable and robust. It has become an attractive alternative for proprietary Unix and Microsoft operating systems. Linux is freely distributed and is gaining prominence in single as well as multi-processor support for Intel x86, Sun Sparc, Digital Alpha, Motorola 680x0, Motorola PowerPC, and Silicon Graphics MIPs microprocessors.

Tomsrtbt is a complete linux system in a single floppy disk intended to rescue and recover from a panic situation. Floppyfw is a complete Linux software router with advanced firewall capabilities that fits on one single floppy disk. There are others who have come up with myriad applications using Linux as the basic OS.

Linux is a complete multitasking, multi-user operating system that behaves like UNIX in terms of kernel behavior and peripheral support. Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinki in Finland developed the kernel. To complete the operating system, Torvalds and others used system components developed by the members of the Free Software Foundation for the GNU Project. Distributions are developed all the time based on the Linux kernel, adding enhancements, packaged with software and tools for installation and configuration. One of the reasons for the operating system's popularity was the license under which it was released - the GNU General Public License. Once the first stable version of Linux was out, it evolved into a variety of distributions. Linux is suggested as a publicly developed alternative to Windows, and is widely used in the business enterprise. Linux is probably the most prevalent OS for the hosting industry with its wide choice of Control panels. Though it does not have as many users as Windows, Linux is competitive with Windows for single processor systems and systems with more than 2 GB of RAM.

Linux has a rich history. It is essential to understand history of Linux in order to understand the philosophy behind Linux's programming. Linux is a freely distributable version of UNIX. UNIX is one of the most popular operating systems for networking worldwide because of its large support base and distribution. Linus Torvalds, who was then a student at the University of Helsinki in Finland, developed Linux in 1991. Through a class he became interested in UNIX, bought a PC, and worked in Minix, a small UNIX operating system. Unsatisfied with Minix, Linus began to develop the kernel (the heart of the operating system) that eventually became the center of the Linux operating system. The history of Linux is closely connected with the history of the Internet. It was released for free on the Internet and generated the largest software-development phenomena of all time. From the very beginning, Linux has been entwined with GNU software. From 1991, Linux quickly developed on hackers' web pages as the alternative to Windows and the more expensive UNIX systems. Linux Kernel 0.02 was the first version to be released and the complete version included the Linux Kernel and some GNU Tools, developed by the Free Software Foundation. Linus Torvalds continued his work to release Version 1.0 of Linux Kernel in the year 1994. Tux, the Linux penguin is the official mascot of Linux. Tux was selected by Torvalds and created by Larry Ewing.

Linux is developed and released under the Free Software Foundation, GNU (General Public License). The source code of Linux is free and is available to everyone for download and use.

The Linux kernel is the core of the operating system. As the kernel is the heart of any OS, changes to kernel can affect the entire performance of the system. Adding new modules and patches to the kernel offers enhanced performance to the OS.

Recompiling a kernel based on your individual need is easier than ever. Download the latest stable version of the source code of the kernel from the Kernel.org and using the Menuconfig – an utility to selectively chose the options you want to build into the kernel, you can build a powerful kernel dedicated to the task.

Although in the first attempt to create a tailor made kernel, many users are bewildered by the many options available to them. But the power of customized kernel lies in the right choice of components and in the right mode of availability – either as built in to the kernel or externally dynamically loadable module.

Process scheduler - Regulates processes to the CPU. It permits processes to create new copies and is also responsible for receiving interrupts and routing them to appropriate kernel subsystems.
Memory manager - Provides memory mapping and ensures that processes do not over lap at a particular memory location. It also guarantees availability of large address space for user programs
Virtual file system - Ensures security of stored data and high-speed access to stored files. It supports multiple hardware devices and multiple logical file systems
Network interface - Provides network connectivity between machines.
Inter-process communication - Enables concurrently executing processes to share common resources.

Although most distributions of Linux consist of the basic kernel and most of the general modules, libraries and utilities, the packages of applications and configuration modalities are different. RedHat, the most dominant distribution uses the RPM (RedHat Package Manager) to ease the complexity of installing an application.

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