Introduction to Linux

What is it?

• Free UNIX-type operating system

• Designed to provide personal computer users a free or very low-cost operating system comparable to traditional and

usually more expensive UNIX systems
 
• Linux is an independent POSIX implementation

• Developed under the GNU General Public License, the source code for Linux is freely available to everyone.

Brief history

• Linux's kernel (the central part of the operating system) was originally developed by Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinki in Finland with the assistance of developers around the world

• Linus was inspired by another operating system named Minix by Andrew Tanenbaum

• The very early development of Linux was mostly dealing with the task-switching features of the 80386 protected-mode interface, all written in assembly code

• On 5 October 1991, Linus announced the first "official" version of Linux, version 0.02.

• Today, Linux is a complete UNIX clone, capable of running X Windows, TCP/IP, and Emacs

• A collection of various artifacts from the period in which Linux first began to take shape.

Current status

• Latest releases of Linux : Stable Release 2.0 and Developers Release 2.1

• Current number of users using Linux

Features & Capabilites of Linux

• Features
• Full UNIX Features
• Full multitasking and 32-bit support
• GNU software support
• The X Window System
• TCP/IP networking support
• Virtual memory and shared libraries

• Capabilities
• Personal Unix Workstations
• X terminal client
• X Application Server
• Unix Development Platform
• Network servers, Internet servers, etc.

Demonstration of Linux Installation (by Anthony Tam)

Interesting facts

• How to pronounce Linux?
 
• Although many variations of the word Linux exist, it is most often pronounced with a short " i " and with the first syllable stressed, as in LIH-nucks.  Audio clip of Linus Torvalds pronouncing the word "Linux" in English.

 
• Official mascot of Linux

 
• Linux Helps Bring Titanic to Life
 
• For James Cameron's gigahit Titanic, Digital Domain Studios used 160 433MHz DEC Alpha systems from Carrera Computers of Newport Beach, California. Of those 160 machines, 105 of the machines are running Linux, the other 55 are running NT.

• The Hong Kong Linux User Group (HKLUG)

Future

• Linux Industry Certifications

• Two IT certifications for the Linux platforms are being designed by the Linux Foundation: Certified Linux Administrator (CLA) and Certified Linux Expert (CLE)
• Linux builds momentum

• Intel Corp. is planning to offer support for Linux on Merced at the same time as it supports Windows NT
• Microsoft taking notice of free rivals Linux, Apache
• Oracle to port database to Linux