Unit 1 Introduction

Course code LX13 Linux Basics

Objectives
After completing this unit, students should be able to: Describe an operating system Describe UNIX Describe Linux Identify the components of a Linux system

Operating Systems
Enable the use of hardware Enable applications to run Enable users to use computers

Applications

Operating System

UNIX
Developed in the late 1960s Available for a wide variety of hardware platforms Ranging from workstation to powerful servers There are many flavors of UNIX Linux is a UNIX-like OS

History of Linux

Minix 1991 Linus Torvalds

Linux

Linux
Linux is the kernel Still maintained by Linus Torvalds Linux is GNU General Public License Linux is not freeware or public domain

Hardware
Linux runs on the following hardware Intel (386, 486, Pentium) SPARC ALPHA PowerPC PalmPilot and others SMP

Linux Distributions
Collection of Linux software that makes a Linux system Red Hat Caldera SuSE Debian Slackware TurboLinux and others

Major Components of Linux

Kernel File system Shell Communication/networking Text processing Programming System management Online documentation Graphical environment

Kernel
Schedules multiple processes / users Interfaces to I/O devices Manages files on disk

Kernel Hardware

Where are Files Stored?

In a filesystem

home

usr

dev

etc

var

tmp

Shell
User's interface to Linux Several shells available: bash (default) pdksh zsh Command interpreter Programming capabilities
User Shell Kernel Hardware

Text Processing
Editors vi (vim - Vi IMproved) ed emacs Document Processing Spell Checking Printing

Programming
Provided by Linux Shell programming bash korn shell tcl/tk perl Python Programming language C/C++ Java Basic

System Management
Install software Define user accounts Configure peripheral devices Allocate disk storage Back up data Monitor performance Determine system problems Solve system problems And many more tasks

Online Documentation
Manual Pages Commands One page at a time Info Tool with hyperlinks to information HOWTO documentation Answers to questions about how to perform a task FAQ Answers to frequently asked questions Internet

Checkpoint
1. Which part of the operating system interacts directly with the hardware? 2. What part of the operating system does the user interact with? a. shell b. kernel c. file system d. C/C++

Unit Summary
Linux is a UNIX-like OS for Intel and a number of other hardware platforms. The shell is the part with which the users interact. The kernel interacts with both the shell and the hardware. Files and directories are stored in filesystems. Distributions are collections of a Linux kernel and a number of tools and commands.