Definition of Linux (GNU / Linux)

Linux is the core of operating systemGNU / Linux. There is a lot of confusion about it in Internet: some definitions speak of Shareware, when in truth it is about Free software, being that it can be used for any purpose, studied, shared and improved by anyone, thanks to the fact that it is provided through the GNU GPL license.

Its technical function is to manage the elements of a computer: get them to communicate with each other in the best possible way.

This is not a "full operating system" as other definitions put it: this is where the GNU project comes into play, which is a full operating system project. Linux is compiled with the GNU C Compiler (GCC), uses other GNU tools such as the text Y BASH language or the GNOME desktop.

The Linux kernel creator It was Linus torvalds, who directs the project until today (2008). "Linux" is a registered trademark and managed by the Linux International Foundation, your president, Jon maddog hall, recently predicted during a visit to Buenos Aires that Windows obtained the first thousand computers, Linux you will get the second, referring to the billions of machines on which the system is installed operative

Microsoft Windows, proprietary software/ privative and main competence ideology of GNU / Linux.

The Linux kernel was born September 17, 1991 and soon attracted the attention of a community of hackers willing to volunteer their time (later the companies would pay their salaries, and some would get rich) to complete the idea of ​​an operating system completely free. As the kernel used by the GNU system at the time, called Hurd, it was not complete and was a long way from that. Finally, Minix developers and other programmers came together to contribute to the simpler Linux kernel. from architecture, more difficult to maintain, but faster to develop.

In 2008 it was estimated that GNU + Linux was installed on 30 to 40 million computers personal, web servers and database, supercomputers (Blue gene, etc.), beginning to appear on cell phones and all kinds of digital devices.

How is the kernel version numbered?

- It consists of four numbers: A.B.C.D, for example, 2.6.26.1.

- The first number increases every many years and only increases when a big change occurs, examples of this are Linux 1.0 in 1994 and Linux 2.0 in 1996.

- The second is subversion, since 2.6 there are not many differences between odd and even numbers (which previously represented whether it was a stable or testing kernel).

- The third number indicates a major revision of that subversion: bugfixes, new drivers or features.

- The third number has to do with minor changes in quantity, although important as well, because they are reflected in corrections of serious errors.

Topics in Linux (GNU / Linux)