LINUX

FROM http://markun.cs.shinshu-u.ac.jp/learn/linux/e_h_01-01.html
Linux is a freely distributed operating system that behaves like the Unix operating system. Linux was designed specifically for the PC platform and takes
advantage of its design to give users comparable performance to high-end UNIX workstations. Many big-name companies have joined the Linux
bandwagon such as IBM and Compaq, offering systems pre-installed with Linux. Also, many companies have started Linux packages, such as Red Hat,
Corel, and Samba. However, they can only charge for services and documentation packaged with the Linux software. More and more businesses are
using Linux as an efficient and more economical way to run their networks.
Linux is a complete multitasking, multi-user operating system that behaves like UNIX in terms of kernel behavior and peripheral support. Linux has all
the features of UNIX and boasts of its open source code and mainly free utilities.
The Linux kernel was originally developed for the Intel 80386, which was developed with multitasking as one of its features. The kernel is the lowestlevel core factor of the operating system. The kernel is the code that controls the interface between user programs and hardware devices, the scheduling
of processes to achieve multitasking, and many other aspects of the system. The Linux kernel is a monolithic kernel; all the device drivers are part of
the kernel proper. Despite the fact that most of Intel's CPUs are used with single-tasking MS-DOS, Linux makes good use of the advanced multitasking
features built into the CPU's instruction set. Linux supports demand paging, which means that only the sections of a program that are necessary are
read into RAM. Linux also offers support for copy-on-write, a process that if more than one copy of a particular application is loaded, all tasks can share
the same memory. When large memory requirements are needed and only small amounts of physical RAM are available, Linux has another feature
called swap space. Swap space allows pages of memory to be written to a reserved area of a disk and treated as an extension of physical memory. By
moving pages between the swap space and RAM, Linux can, in effect, act as if it had much more physical RAM than it does, with the cost of some
speed due to the hard drive's slower access. Linux also supports diverse file systems, as well as those compatible with DOS and OS/2. Linux's file
system, ext2fs, is intended for best possible use of the disk.
The History of Linux
Linux is a freely distributable version of UNIX. UNIX is one of the most popular operating systems for networking worldwide because of its large support
base and distribution. Linus Torvalds, who was then a student at the University of Helsinki in Finland, developed Linux in 1991. It was released for free
on the Internet and generated the largest software-development phenomena of all time. Because of GNU software (GNU being an acronym for Gnu's
Not UNIX) created by the Free Software Foundation, Linux has many utilities to offer. The Free Software Foundation offers royalty-free software to
programmers and developers. From the very beginning, Linux has been entwined with GNU software. From 1991, Linux quickly developed on hackers'
web pages as the alternative to Windows and the more expensive UNIX systems. When Red Hat released its commercial version of Linux packaged
with tech support and documentation, the floodgates broke and the majority of the public became aware of Linux and its capabilities. Now more and
more new users are willing to try Linux on their personal PCs and business users are willing to use Linux to run their networks. Linux has become the
latest phenomenon to hit the PC software market.
Linux is a unique operating system in that it is an active participant in the Open Source Software movement. Linux is legally covered by the GNU
General Public License, also known as GPL. Open Source software is free but is not in the public domain. It is not shareware either. GPL allows people
to take free software and distribute their own versions of the software. However, the vendors who sell free software cannot restrict the rights of users
who purchase the software. In other words, users who buy GPL software can make copies of it and distribute it free of charge or for a fee. Also,
distributors of GPL software must make it clear that the software is covered by the GPL and must provide the complete source code for the software at
no cost. Linux embodies the Open Source model. Open source applies to software for which the source code is freely available for anyone to download,
alter, and redistribute. Linux is the perfect operating system for hackers because they can freely download newer versions of the Linux kernel or other
Linux utilities of the Internet and instantly change its source code to fix any software bugs found. That way, bugs can be fixed in a matter of hours as
opposed to days and weeks. Beta testers and code debuggers are unorganized and spread throughout the world, but surprisingly, they have managed
to quickly debug Linux software efficiently and cooperate online through the use of the Internet.
TYPES
What is a distribution? Think of it as ice cream flavors- each is unique but are generally similar. Because Linux is open-sourced, there are numerous
distributions that programmers have worked on, but the most popular are talked about below.
RedHat Linux- Lately, RedHat has been making the headlines with it's Linux distribution. It is one of the most popular distributions out there right now,
and supports the Intel, Alpha, and SPARC platforms. Many users prefer RedHat Linux because of its ease of use, installation, and live tech support.
RedHat Linux primarily comes bundled with the X Windows System, GNOME and KDE desktop environments, as well as the StarOffice suite.
Linux Mandrake- Yet another rather popular distribution is Linux Mandrake. Similar to RedHat, it also bundles the X Windows System, GNOME, KDE,
and StarOffice. What really distances Mandrake from RedHat Linux is its improved ease of use plus a few added extra tools and utilities.
Corel Linux- Although less popular than something like RedHat, Corel Linux continues to shine with its usability and ease of installation through its
Install Express. It comes with only the KDE environment, but also includes WordPerfect for Linux instead of Sun's StarOffice.
Debian/GNU- Debian/GNU is intended for the more advanced Linux users out there. Although it is more difficult to use than other distributions,
Debian/GNU is frequently chosen for web server purposes. Its stability and web adminstration tools are the reason many webmasters rely on
Debian/GNU for their server environment.
Slackware- As one of the first distributions of Linux created, Slackware continues to be fairly popular. It also includes the usual X Window System,
GNOME, and KDE. Slackware boasts excellent stability, at the expense of less updated code and more intermediate to advanced user appeal.
SuSE Linux- If you're looking full feature bundles with your Linux distribution, try SuSE Linux. Originally created by German programmers, this
distribution has become quite popular in Europe and is gaining much recognition in the United States. Of course it includes the standard X Windows
System, KDE and GNOME environments, but it distances itself from the other offerings by including a huge amount of bundled software. This distribution
is also recommended for newer users.
Caldera OpenLinux- Primarily designed for the business and power user, Caldera Linux focuses on internet applications. It includes a full collection of
internet connectivity and access tools, and helps anyone take full of advantage of the internet through Linux.
FROM http://studyjava.org/general/types-of-linux-os
Types of Linux OS
Linux
Linux is an increasingly popular operating system that is proving to be a viable alternative to Microsofts Windows and Apples Mac operating systems.
Linux is open source, which means that it is developed by a tight-knit community of developers and designed to be permanently free of charge. Because
of this, there are many different types of Linux operating systems available to users. Linux is PC-UNIX in which the kernel was created for PC/AT
compatibles by Linus Torvalds of Finland. The name is derived from the kernels creator.
Distribution
Although Linux is originally the kernel created by Linus, it does not function as an OS generally available with only the kernel. To function as an OS,
various software applications must be combined with the kernel. Thus, the combination of the kernel and some application software supporting it for use
as a OS is called a distribution.
Types of distribution
A number of application software programs as well as the kernel is needed to run as an OS, but software applications necessary depend on the specific
purpose of use or policy. This is the difference of distributions, so there are many distributions.

The biggest difference is the management method of a package (software) shown as follows:
RedHat Linux
CentOS
Fedora
Ubuntu
RedHat Linux
Red Hat Linux, assembled by the company Red Hat, was a popular Linux based operating system until its discontinuation in 2004.
Red Hat Linux 1.0 was released on November 3, 1994. It was originally called Red Hat Commercial Linux. It was the first Linux distribution to use the
RPM Package Manager as its packaging format, and over time has served as the starting point for several other distributions, such as Mandriva Linux
and Yellow Dog Linux.
Red Hat Linux introduced a graphical installer called Anaconda, intended to be easy to use for novices, and which has since been adopted by some
other Linux distributions. It also introduced a built-in tool called Lokkit for configuring the firewall capabilities.
As of Red Hat Linux 8.0, UTF-8 was enabled as the default character encoding for the system. This had little effect on English-speaking users, but
enabled much easier internationalisation and seamless support for multiple languages, including ideographic, bi-directional and complex script
languages along with European languages.
Red Hat Linux lacked many features due to possible copyright and patent problems. For example, MP3 support was disabled in both Rhythmbox and
XMMS; instead, Red Hat recommended using Ogg Vorbis, which has no patents. MP3 support, however, could be installed afterwards, although
royalties are required everywhere MP3 is patented. Support for Microsofts NTFS file system was also missing, but could be freely installed as well.
Advantage Redhat Linux
User support is matched to the traditional open source ideology can make changes to any part of the system.
Flexibility and security
Software Compatiblity Issues Solved and find to check new operating system, new web browser, a new email client and a new photo editor for their
Linux.
Enterprise level support will make Red Hat easy to use
Centos
CentOS is a community-supported, free and open source operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It exists to provide a free enterprise
class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution. CentOS stands for Community ENTerprise
Operating System. CentOS developers use Red Hats source code to create a final product very similar to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. CentOS is
available free of charge. Technical support is primarily provided by the community via official mailing lists, web forums, and chat rooms.
CentOS version numbers have two parts, a major version and a minor version. The major and minor version numbers respectively correspond to the
major version and update set of Red Hat Enterprise Linux from which the source packages used to build CentOS are taken. For example, CentOS 4.4 is
built from the source packages from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 update 4.
Advantage:
Virtualization allows multiple operating systems to run on a single server at the same time.
SELinux Trouble Shooting Tool is a user-friendly tool for notification and diagnosis of access denials.
Clustering and security
Fedora
Fedora is another example of a Linux distribution. In appearance, Fedoras desktop and standard operations are similar to those of Ubuntu and Kubuntu.
Fedora is used primarily for older PCs due to its limited system requirements. The term fedora was in use as early as 1891. The fedora came into use in
about 1919. Fedoras can be found in nearly any color imaginable, but black, grey, tan, brown, and red are the most popular.
Advantage:
Fedora is pretty similar to RHEL
Fedora fairly convenient and relatively easy to install
Fedora has the latest releases of most of the available software
The choice of software is enormous
Ubuntu
The most popular and widely used Linux distribution is called Ubuntu. Ubuntu is aimed at bringing Linux to casual computer users and is
comparable in features to Microsofts Windows operating system. Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution.
Ubuntu focuses on usability and security. The Ubiquity installer allows Ubuntu to be installed to the hard disk from within the Live CD environment,
without the need for restarting the computer prior to installation.
Ubuntu comes installed with a wide range of software that includes OpenOffice, Firefox, Pidgin, Transmission, GIMP, and several lightweight games
(such as Sudoku and chess). Ubuntu allows networking ports to be closed using its firewall, with customized port selection available. It offers support for
more than 46 languages. Ubuntu can also run many programs designed for Microsoft Windows (such as Microsoft Office), through Wine or using a
Virtual Machine.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
Linux was originally developed as a free operating system for Intel x86-based personal computers. It has since been ported to more computer hardware
platforms than any other operating system. It is a leading operating system on servers and other big iron systems such as mainframe
computers and supercomputers:[13][14][15][16] more than 90% of today's 500 fastest supercomputers run some variant of Linux,[17] including the 10 fastest.
[18]
Linux also runs on embedded systems (devices where the operating system is typically built into the firmware and highly tailored to the system) such
as mobile phones, tablet computers, network routers, televisions[19][20] and video game consoles; the Android system in wide use on mobile devices is
built on the Linux kernel.
The development of Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration: the underlying source code may be
used, modified, and distributedcommercially or non-commerciallyby anyone under licenses such as the GNU General Public License. Typically
Linux is packaged in a format known as a Linux distribution for desktop and server use. Some popular mainstream Linux distributions
include Debian (and
its
derivatives
such
as Ubuntu), Fedora and openSUSE.
Linux
distributions
include
the
Linux
kernel,
supporting utilities and libraries and usually a large amount of application software to fulfill the distribution's intended use.
A distribution oriented toward desktop use will typically include the X Window System and an accompanying desktop environment such
as GNOME or KDE Plasma. Some such distributions may include a less resource intensive desktop such as LXDE or Xfce for use on older or less
powerful computers. A distribution intended to run as a server may omit all graphical environments from the standard install and instead include other
software such as the Apache HTTP Server and an SSH server such as OpenSSH. Because Linux is freely redistributable, anyone may create a
distribution for any intended use. Applications commonly used with desktop Linux systems include the Mozilla Firefox web browser, the LibreOffice office
application suite, and the GIMP image editor.
Since the main supporting user space system tools and libraries originated in the GNU Project, initiated in 1983 by Richard Stallman, the Free Software
Foundation prefers the name GNU/Linux.[