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An Introduction to Linux

Module by: Algis Rudys. E-mail the author

Summary: This module provides a description of Linux, and a brief list of reasons why someone might want to run Linux.

What is Linux?

Linux is a UNIX-based operating system originally developed as for Intel-compatible PC's. It is now available for most types of hardware platforms, ranging from PDAs (and according to some reports, a wristwatch) to mainframes. Linux is a "modern operating system", meaning it has such features as virtual memory, memory protection, and preemptive multitasking.

Linux is built and supported by a large international community of developers and users dedicated to free, open-source software. This community sees Linux as an alternative to such proprietary systems as Windows and Solaris, and as a platform for alternatives to such proprietary applications as MS Office, Internet Explorer, and Outlook.

As a result of this community, there is a very large collection of free software available for Linux. There are graphical environments (GUIs), office applications, developers' tools, system utilities, business applications, document publishing tools, network client and server applications -- the list goes on.

The best part of this community is that all code is open. This means there is no barrier to entry; for any given problem, there are generally several applications that solve the problem. These applications can also borrow the best parts from each other to become even better. An excellent example of this is Galeon. Galeon is a web browser which took Mozilla's web page rendering engine and integrated it with a GTK frontend (instead of Mozilla's normal frontend).

Linux specifically refers to the Linux kernel. However, the kernel is useless without a set of tools and applications to run on the kernel. Linux is most commonly distributed with this toolset and a collection of applications in what is called a "distribution". The most common are Redhat, Mandrake, Suse, and Debian. Distributions differ in three basic ways: the process for installing the distribution, the applications available, and process for installing and managing these applications.

Why use Linux?

Reasons to Install Linux

  • Configurability
  • Convenience
  • Stability
  • Community
  • Freedom

Configurability

Linux distributions give the user full access to configure just about any aspect of their system. Options range from the simple and straightforward (for instance, changing the background image) to the more esoteric (for instance, making the "Caps Lock" key behave like "Control"). Almost any aspect of the user experience can be configured.

Linux also allows the user to automate just about any task. Advanced scripting and high-level programming are standard features. Most operations are accessible via these scripting options. Finally, Linux offers the ultimate in configurability: the source code, to be modified as you see fit.

Convenience

While Linux takes some effort to get set up, once it is set up, it is surprisingly low-maintenance. Package management can simply be a matter of running two commands in the shell. Linux also offers complete remote access. This allows the user to act exactly as if she is sitting at that computer's desk, potentially across town or on the other side of the world.

Stability

Linux is based on the UNIX kernel. It provides preemptive multitasking and protected memory. Preemptive multitasking prevents any application from permanently stealing the CPU and locking up the machine. Protected memory prevents applications from interfering with and crashing one-another.

Linux and related tools are also open-source. This means that the source code is available for the public to view. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of developers working on the various pieces of Linux. In this open development process, bugs are fixed very quickly. In addition, bugs are fixed immediately, instead of waiting for the next major release. It certainly helps that the people who develop Linux and associated tools use their programs every day.

Community

Linux is part of the greater open-source community. This consists of thousands of developers and many more users world-wide who support open software. This user and developer base is also a support base.

In Rice, there is the Rice Linux Users Group (the group who are bringing you this class). We hold regular meetings where people can bring up their Linux problems. There is also the newsgroup rice.comp.linux, where questions can be asked or problems laid out any time, day or night. This newsgroup is mirrored to the RLUG-discuss mailing list, for RLUG members who don't have access to Rice newsgroups.

Worldwide, the Linux community is even greater. There is a mailing list for just about every project or piece of software in active development -- if you have a question about a program, who better to ask than the person who wrote it? There are also newsgroups and web pages which have collectively with the mailing lists probably addressed every problem someone new to Linux has encountered several times over.

Freedom

Linux is free. This means more than just costing nothing. This means that you are allowed to do whatever you want to with the software. This is why Redhat, Mandrake, and Suse are all allowed to sell their own distributions of Linux. The only restriction placed on Linux is that, if you distribute Linux, you must grant all the privileges to the code that you had, including providing the source. This prevents a corporation from using the Linux kernel as the basis for their proprietary operating system.

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