LINUX

What is Linux?
Linux started in 1991 as a project of Linus Torvalds, a computer science student at the University of Helsinki,
Finland.
It is a powerful, stable, flexible and fun Unix-like operating system (most programs written for Unix are fully
compatible with Linux systems). Its lean core allows it to run on a wide range of different hardware platforms-in fact, when it comes to the support of diverse hardware, Linux takes first place, running on more hardware
architectures than any other operating system. It not only runs on Intel Computers (on which it originally ran),
but also most of the hardware platforms already in use, including PCs, Macintosh and Amiga computers, Silicon
graphics
workstations,
Digital
Alpha
computers
and
more.
Linux is fast and reliable. It has all the features of fully-fledged operating system: true multi-tasking, virtual
memory, shared libraries, demand loading, shared, copy-on-write executables, proper memory management, and
TCP/IP networking.
Linux is used for software development, networking and as an end-user platform. Linux supports multiple users
and several Windows-like graphic interfaces and is exceptionally stable, because from its inception it was
designed to take multiple hits and field numerous requests. This makes Linux an excellent choice for servers.
And it's free. Linux' copyright is owned by Torvalds and other contributors, but it is licensed under the GNU
Public License (GPL) so it's freely distributable. A copy of the GPL is included with the Linux source; As
thousands of programmers have spontaneously teamed up across the Internet, forming the Linux community,
they are contributing new features, fixing bugs and making improvements; Linux is quickly evolving into a
viable
Windows
alternative
with
worldwide
acceptance.
The word 'Linux' refers to the kernel, the core part of the operating system that's responsible for critical things
such as hardware, memory, file management, separating processes, etc., but is widely used to refer to an entire
operating system built around the Linux kernel. Each distinct combination is a different version, called a
"distribution." The Linux kernel is available over the Internet from hundreds of ftp sites, and several companies
now make and sell their own Linux distributions which are available on CD-ROM. Each distribution has its own
characteristics, but the Linux OS kernel is the same so they remain largely compatible with each other.

Is
Linux
really
free?
Essentially, yes. Linux is not public domain, nor is it 'shareware.' It is free software called 'freeware' or Open
Source SoftwareTM (see http://www.opensource.org/), which basically means that Linux can be freely distributed
as long as the source code is included (or made available). Not only are you allowed to download Linux off the
Internet at no charge, you can pass on copies to friends or even sell your own version. Anyone can access the
original source code and modify its internals, altering the system to meet their unique needs, all without breaking
a
single
law.
Is
Linux
user-friendly?
Yes! Although Linux started out as a command-line OS much like DOS, without the spit-polished GUI. X
Windows, which runs on Unix, gives Linux a straightforward, Windows-like graphic interface that is far more
versatile than others you may be using now. And there are two competing Windows-like desktop environments
called Gnome and KDE that address the needs of the end user, immersing them in a highly configurable, intuitive
and robust environment. KDE (K Desktop Environment) is more corporate, while Gnome is fun and highly
customizable.
Why
are
there
so
many
versions
(distributions)
of
Linux?
When he wrote the Linux kernel, Linus Torvalds could have put together a complete operating system
distribution, much like what other free operating systems (FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD) have done, but he was
more interested in hacking the kernel, so he left the politics of establishing distribution to others. As a result,
there are several Linux distributions out there, all competing against each other.
With developers, programmers, hardware manufacturers and most importantly, users, constantly adding value to
the product, essentially what we're seeing is a "natural selection" process taking place, with a very stable,

functional,

powerful

OS

as

the

result.

How
stable
is
Linux,
really?
Linux is highly sophisticated in terms of its capabilities. Plus, its reliability is legendary. Imagine working
without system crashes, reboots and lost files! A Linux system is unlikely to crash, has been known to run for
months without rebooting, and there are documented cases of Linux servers running for over a year at a time
without a system-halting crash. Linux is a true multi-tasking OS, which means that more than one application can
run at the same time. And should one application crash, it's unlikely to cause the entire system to fail.
How
about
security?
Security, which is necessary for protection of sensitive information, is built into Linux at selectable levels. Linux
uses the Unix idea of permissions. Only authorized users are able to modify, for example, global configuration
files (settings that affect all users). With Linux, you don't have to waste valuable system resources and money for
a virus scanner since it's so secure that if a virus attempts to delete a system critical file, it will receive a
"permission denied" message, the same as if a user without the proper privileges tried to delete one.
Can
I
install
Linux
on
any
system?
Pretty much. One of the real cost savings that Linux realizes may have little to do with the sticker price of the OS
itself. As previously mentioned, Linux will run extremely well on a wide range of different hardware platforms,
including old Intel 386/486 systems to new Pentium IIIs, Macintosh and Amiga computers, Silicon graphics
workstations and Digital Alpha computers. Linux will not, however, run fully on an 8086 or '286, as it requires
task-switching and memory management facilities not found on these processors. Nevertheless, that 386
collecting dust in the garage or the company broom closet could make an excellent Web or mail server. For
mission critical high performance applications, Linux will perform at the same level as many alternatives on
lesser hardware, or best them on similar machines. Linux doesn't take up much room on the hard drive, and
requires little memory. You can install Linux to add new life to older computers, or easily transform your old
desktop into a powerful workstation. Surprisingly, you can get Linux to run with as little as 1MB RAM, and 1.44
MB or 1.2 MB floppy. Some people suggest at least 2MB of RAM, others 4 or 6MB. But everyone agrees that to
do anything substantial, you will need more RAM and disk space-- it really depends on what you're trying to
accomplish, and which applications you want to run on your Linux system. A minimal installation with the
normal basic set of Unix utilities, shells, and administrative programs should run fine with less than 10 MB, but a
complete commercial distribution will run a lot better on anywhere from 60 to 600MB, depending on the
distribution,
and
which
applications
you
choose
to
install.
An installation that includes X will fit into 80MB. The Debian GNU Linux takes 500MB to 1GB, including
kernel source code, some space for user files, and spool areas. And you'll need another GB of disk space for a
commercial distribution with a desktop GUI, commercial word processor, and front-office productivity suite.
Linux will also easily handle the multi-gigabyte hard drives, and adding memory makes a huge difference with
Linux, so if you're buying new hardware, go ahead and get as much space as you can for the money.
As far as memory goes, you need at least 4MB if you don't use X, and then you'll need to use special installation
procedures until the disk swap space is installed. 8MB is better if you do use X. If you use many programs at the
same time, 16MB will reduce swapping considerably, or 32MB if you don't want to swap much at all under a
normal load, and 64MB to avoid it altogether if you're running lots of memory-intensive applications
simultaneously.
Because Linux excels at compatibility and openness, it also has the ability to co-exist on many machines that are
running other operating systems. Most Linux distributions allow you to set up your computer so you can run
Linux on the same machine as your old operating system. So, you can try Linux without erasing your old OS, or
having to buy another computer! The standard method is to partition your hard drive, but you can also install
Linux as a DOS file. (also link to article about Windows/Linux on the same computer) MS-DOS and MS
Windows
users
interested
in
switching
completely
over
to
What
about
networking?
Linux supports most of the major protocols, and quite a few of the minor ones. Linux supports a great variety of
networking
hardware,
including
some
obsolete
equipment.
Support for TCP/IP networking has been present in Linux since its beginning, and since it's one of the fastest and

reliable implementations, it's one of the key factors of Linux' success. Linux has a very clean IPX/SPX
implementation, built-in support for ISDN, PPP, SLIP, PLIP and amateur radio protocols. It also has full
AppleTalk networking, and ATM support is currently in pre-alpha stage. Several third parties provide T-1, T-3,
X.25 and Frame Relay products for Linux; generally, special hardware is required for these types of connections.
With support for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and other services (such as Domain Name
Service),
Linux
is
also
well
suited
to
serving
large
networks
Is
there
any
software
for
Linux?
There are several commercial Web development software products freely available for Linux, including Netscape
Navigator
and
Communicator.
There is a tremendous wealth of free Linux software from which to choose, and the choices are growing
exponentially, from office, financial and productivity packages to multimedia, audio and video applications and
the new tools that give you command of the Internet. There is a Linux program available for almost every need
you
can
imagine.
Linux is the fastest growing software development platform. Linux distributions come with a programming
development environment that includes C, C++, Fortran, toolkits such as Qt and scripting languages like perl,
awk and sed. If you wanted to buy all this to develop software of a Windows system, it would require a
substantial
investment.
Most of the common Unix tools and programs are available for Linux, including almost all GNU software and
many X clients from various sources. If there is a commercial Unix application you enjoy using, the
manufacturer will be able to tell you if its been ported to Linux. Commercial Linux HOWTO is a document
maintained by a Mr. Poet that lists commercial software and applications that are offered for Linux. The
following
is
a
very
partial
list
of
software
that
is
available
for
Linux:
Office tools: StarOffice Suite, Corel WordPerfect Office 2000, The American Hertitage Dictionary Deluxe,
Applixware Office Suite for Linux, D.M.S. Document Management System, HotWire EasyFAX, NexS, Network
Extensibe Spreadsheet, Axene Office, Projector and the Projector/Net, Virtual Office System, Axene XA11Write,
Axene
Xclamation,
Axene
XQuad
Image Manipulation: GIMP, blender, ImageMagick Data Visualization and CAD: IDL (Interactive Data
Language),
Megahedron,
Tecplot
7.0,
VariCAD,
VARKON,
XVScan
Programming: C/C++, Pascal, Java, ACUCOBOL-GT, Amzi! Prolog & Logic Server, Basmark QuickBASIC,
Critical Mass CM3, Dynace, Fortran, Absoft Fortran 77, Finesse, ISE Eiffel, EiffelBench, C-Forge IDE, IdeaFix,
j-tree, KAI C++, Khoris Pro 2.1, MetaCard, ObjectManual Release 3.0, Critical Mass Reactor, Resource
Standard Metrics, r-tree, sdoc (Source Documenter), SEDIT, S/REXX, SniFF+, ST/X (Smalltalk/X), tdb (Tcl
Profiler),
View
Designer/X
(VDX),
Xbasic,
Xmove
4.0
Multimedia/ Sound: RealPlayer 5.0, MPEG Video Player (mtv/mtvp), MpegTV Player 1.0, Xaudio MP3 player
by MpegTV, Peter Lipa and his Journeys, Lucka Vondrackova and her Journeys, Peter Nagy and his Journeys,
CD-Player,
MODPlayer,
MP3Player,
MIDI-Sequencer,
OSS,
ALSA
Typesetting:

teTeX/LaTex,

Ghostscript,

Edith

Pro

for

X11,

TeraSpell

97

for

Emacs

Web server: Apache, CommuniGate Pro Website development: ASWedit, Empress DataWEB, EZ-EDIT,
LinkScan, TalentSoft Web+, VirtuFlex 1.1, Visual prolog, Web Crossing, ThreadTrack, WebTailor
Network: TCP/IP, NFS, UUCP, PPP, IPX, Appletalk, HAM radio, ISDN, SMB (samba: Windows), ARCnet,
Internet, Critical Angle X.500 Enabler, DNEWS News Server, Aventail Internet Policy Manager, Aventail VPN,
WANPIPE,
Zeus
Web
Server,
Intel
Network
Management
Suite
Internet: WWW, mail, IRC, News, DNS, SuSE Proxy Suite (firewall tool) with FTP Proxy, Netscape
Communicator

Mail:

Sendmail,

smail

Databases: IBM's DB2, Sybase ASE, Informix Dynamic Server (Linux Edition Suite), MySQL, FrontBase, ctree Plus, Empress, Essentia, FairCom Server, INFORMIX-SE, Just Logis/SQL, KE Texpress, Qddb, Raima
Database Manager++, Empress Embedded RDBMS, SOLID Server, Velocis Database Server, Yard SQL, Oracle,
Paradox Unix tools: awk, sed, grep, find, rcs, make, mgroff, bison, flex, perl, m4
Emulators: DOS, Atari ST, Amiga, C64, C128, VIC20, PET, ZX Spectrum, Gameboy, Nintendo Entertainment
System, Atari VCS2600, C9oleco Vision, ZX81, Emulus, Executor 2, Wabi 2.2 for OpenLinux, Vmware
Financial

Software:

BB

Stock

Pro

and

BB

Stock

Tool,

Time

Clock

Libraries: FontScope, INTERACTER, Matrix-C++ Math Matrix Library, PKWARE Data Compression Library
for
Linux,
readyBase,
SIMLIB
IG
Mathematics: Maple V Release 4- The Power Edition, MATCOM and MATCOM MATH LIBRARY,
Mathematica
3.0,
MATLAB
and
Simulink
System

Administration

Tools:

Host

Factory,

PerfectBACKUP+,

Venus

X Windows Related Products: Accelerated-X Display Server, Bxwidgets, Bxwidgets/DB, Laptop, MaXimum
cde
Developer's
Edition
v1.0,
Multi-headed,
OpenGL,
OSF-Certified
Motif
Utilities:

BootMagic,

PartitionMagicSE,

LILO,

Bru,

Arkeia,

White

Pine

Games: Simcity, Quake, Railroad Tycoon II, Heroes of Might and Magic III, Heretic II, Eric's Ultimate Solitaire,
Myth
II
Soulblighter,
Civilization:
Call
to
Power,
Heavy
Gear
II
Macintosh software: Mozilla, Netscape Communicator, Apache, Crystal Space, Nedit, MP3, MpegTV, QSeeMe,
Netatalk,
BootX,
Krilo,
C,
Java,
Tcl/Tk,
gnuplot,
Gameboy
Emulator
Other Software: ABACUS 4, BBBS, Clustor, FootPrints, Aladdin Ghostscripts, Magician, journyx WebTime,
LanSafe,
LjetMgr,
Synchronize/CyberScheduler
Free

Software

for

Commercial

Hardware:

Stallion

Technologies

Multiport

Serial

Boards

Where
can
I
get
Linux?
eLinux.com is your best resource. You can download Linux for free from any ftp site , but unless you're an
experienced programmer with lots of time on your hands, our advice is to begin with a commercially available
Linux distribution, such as those produced by Red Hat, Corel, Caldera, TurboLinux, Debian, SuSE, Yellow Dog
and
Mandrake.
Is
there
any
documentation?
There's an abundance of documentation! Most of Linux's documentation is online rather than in a set of physical
manuals, a dynamic model that is well suited to documenting an evolving piece of software. Right at your
fingertips is the eLinux.com Knowledgebase, a huge, searchable repository of Linux documentation that is
organized for easy access, and includes authoritative information on everything that concerns the Linux user.
eLinux.com also offers Support Forums for 15 different categories and a myriad of topics, including support and
development.
The Linux Documentation Project (LDP) maintains very good, reliable, free documentation, with a variety of
manuals and articles for the Linux operating system and application software. Linux Installation and Getting
Started, version 3.2 is the latest version of the original Linux beginner's manual. You can download either the
Postscript
document
or
the
LaTeX
source
in
a
tar
archive.
Can
I
get
technical
support?
The very fact that Linux is free has fostered a helpful attitude in the Linux community. Newsgroups and mailing

lists jump to action, providing surprisingly fast, high quality technical support. The help is of such superior
quality that Infoworld awarded the coveted "Best Technical Support" to the Linux Community as a whole in
1998!
What
is
the
Linux
Community?
The Linux community has become almost legendary, and it an integral part of Linux itself. The Linux community
is that loosely knit team of talented programmers who are adding value to the operating system from working
from
all
over
the
world.
As a programmer, you can contribute your ideas to the Linux Open Source group, headed by Linus Torvalds. If
accepted, your code will be added to future versions of Linux. This approach to software helped create stable,
feature-rich programs. It may well be that Linux is the path toward a truly universal OS. But you don't have to be
a programmer to have an influence on the future shape of Linux-the developers will take your feedback and
questions for consideration. You can even drop Linus Torvalds a line at torvalds@transmeta.com if you want, but
we don't recommend bothering him for things like asking how to recompile the kernel or whatnot-that's a job for
the Linux Community. If you want to know more about Linus himself, you can check out The Rampantly
Unofficial Linus Torvalds FAQ and see what he looks like, find out how his name is pronounced and where he
lives. The site even tells you his middle name.