An Introduction to Linux
• Name: Haixin Wang
• ID : 98903
What is Linux?
• Linux, properly known as GNU/ Linux , is a
free, UNIX-like OS.
• It developed originally for home PCs, but
now runs on a variety of platforms
including PowerPC, Macintosh, Amiga,
Atari, DEC Alpha, Sun Sparc, ARM , and
many others.
• Linux aims for POSIX compliancy to
maintain maximum compatibility with other
UNIX -like system. Linux is probably the
most popular UNIX-like OS in the world.
The Linux System
• The central nervous system of Linux is the
kernel.
• The kernel design is modular , so that the
actual OS code is very small yet able to load
whatever functionality it needs when it
needs it and then free the memory
afterwards.
• The kernel is under constant development
and is always available in both the latest
stable release and latest experimental
release.
Stability
• Linux boxes are known for running month
or even years at a time without crashing,
freezing , or having to be rebooted.
• Linux is Y2K -compliant.
• Viruses for Linux do not exist.
Speed
• Linux machines are known to be extremely
fast, because the OS is very efficient at
managing resources such as memory , CPU
power and disk space.
Graphical Interface
• Linux has at least a dozen different highly
configurable graphical interfaces ( known as
window managers) which run on top of
Xfree 86.
• The most popular window managers now
are KDE( the K Desktop Environment) and
the GNOME ( the GNU Network Object
Model Environment) . These offer the point
• -and click, drag- and -drop functionality
associated with other user-friendly
environments, but are extremely flexible
and can take on a number of different looks
and feels.
Software Development
• Nearly all development for Linux is free
and covered under the GNU Public License,
which guarantees that it will always remain
free.
• Linux systems come standard with C and
C++compilers and an assembler, and often
include Pascal, FORTRAN and BASIC
implementations as well.
• Modern languages like Perl and Python and
classic languages like LISP are all available
, full functional and completely free.
• The source code for nearly any Linux
program is freely available ( and often
included by default).
Networking
• Since Linux is based on UNIX, where
computer networking more or less
developed, probably all networking
protocols in use on the internet are native to
UNIX and /or Linux, so one can expect the
UNIX and Linux would network better than
any other platforms.
• Setting up a network on a Linux machine is
simple, because Linux handles most of the
work.
• Linux is made for networking. A large part
of the Web is running on Linux boxes.
Productivity
• Linux has always strived for compatibility
and openness. Linux productivity packages
can usually read and write files from
productivity packages on other platforms.
• Linux is happy to coexist on the same
machine as other operating systems.
What software is available for
Linux?
Linux’s open Source approach to software
development has produced thousands of
pieces of all varieties, which are constantly
being improved. Almost all Llinux software
are completely free along with source code.
There are also many excellent archives of
Linux software as well as GNU software
and other UNIX compatible software.
• Application
From household appliance control to World
Wide Web tools, Linux has a lot to offer.
GIMP, the GNU Image Manipulation
Program is similar to Photoshop but highly
extensible and completely free.
Linux also has audio applications . You can
use Linux for ham radio and video
applications.
• Development software
C, C++, and an assembler come by default
on all distributions.
Linux has all sorts of other languages
available, including Ada , APL, BASIC,
Fortran, GOM script, INTERCAL, LISP
Logo, Mercury Objective C Pascal and a lot
more.
Programmers can choose between using
gcc and egcs, the GNU C Compiler and the
Experimental GNU Compiler System..
• Games
Linux has loads of games---the Linux Tome
lists over 230 entries.
Free Linux games, however are often of
very high quality and most entertaining.
• Scientific Software
UNIX was originally used by scientists,
so there is a lot of scientific software
available for Linux, including the TeX
and LaTeX scientific typesetting
packages.
There are scientific applications for
astronomy, biology, cartography, chemistry,
laboratory work, mathematics, graphing and
visualization and so on.
Linux is quite at home in scientific
applications and is often used by
laboratories.
• System software
Since Linux is based in UNIX and very
much compatible with it, there is an
abundance of system software for Linux .
System software includes things from
daemons to networking, to file systems ,
hardware support, emulation, benchmark s
and generic file utilities.
Linux supports parallel processing and
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent
Disks), and has resources for managing all
sorts of hardware issues which are very
important to mainframes and
supercomputers.
• Utilities
Linux has file utilities. It also has
command-line and even graphic interfaces
for all sorts of disk and file operations, from
converting sound and audio formats to
compressing, archiving, and encrypting
files.