|
|
The Answer Gang 67: Homework assignment: define these Linux terms
By Jim Dennis, Ben Okopnik, Dan Wilder, Breen, Chris, and the Gang,
the Editors of Linux Gazette...
and You!
Send questions (or interesting answers) to
tag@lists.linuxgazette.net
There is no guarantee that your questions
here will ever be answered. You can be published anonymously
- just let us know!
 Homework assignment: define these Linux terms
From
Maria Alejandra Balmaceda
Answered By
Karl-Heinz Herrmann
i would like to know if you can define to me this words:
 [K.H.]
I can try at least some of them:
Linux
UNIX
[K.H.]
UNIX is an operating system developed around 1969 from Bell Labs according
to:
http://minnie.cs.adfa.edu.au/Unix_History
-
another history overview is on:
- http://perso.wanadoo.fr/levenez/unix
Since then many clones and reimplementations of very similar Operating
systems have
been released. Most of them were developed by some company and sold running
on their hardware (HP unix, IBM 's AIX, Dec OSF, Cray unicos, ....).
Another one of them is Linux -- a Unix kernel rewrite started as a project
by Linus
Torvalds with the remarkable difference that the Linux kernel was and is
free --
free in the sense that everybody has access to the source and is free to
redistribute it as well as modifying it.
Linus' work was made possible by another project: GNU. See below.
[Heather]
I see people say that specific line so often it rates as a myth.
Actually the GNU project had nothing to do with his kernel; I believe his
earliest kernels weren't even under GPL; beyond that, not all GPL'd
applications are part of the GNU project, in fact I dare say most of them
aren't, esp. since there's more of them every day. See "distribution"
below for what really needed GNU tools to get going.
Kernel
[K.H.]
loosely the core part of the operating system which handles all the
hardware and
resources of a computer.
The kernel also is code which has more or less free access to memory and
hardware
in contrast to "user space" where the hardware access has to go through
the method
the kernel provides.
GNU
[K.H.]
See: http://www.gnu.org for material on gnu, free software, open source
etc.
This had all the tools like compilers which are necessary to buid an
operating system as well as all the little commandline programs which
make the Linux kernel
to a Unix like operating system (what would one do without commands like
ls, mv, ps or sh, bash, ....).
[Heather]
Hardly all the tools; about as many of the tools in a typical system
are under BSDish or other free licenses. If you measure by bits instead
of how many packages, X is fairly heavyweight and remains under an MIT
license. A lot of Linux users use X, many even consider it a day to
day necessity.
Among other things a real GNU project
utility author would have transferred his, her, or their copyrights to
FSF, something which not everyone feels inclined to do, by a long shot.
Free BSD
[K.H.]
Another Unix like operating system, also free source but the license has
differences from the Linux typical Gnu Public license (GPL)
http://www.freebsd.org
Open Source
[K.H.]
I don't think I try to say that: Go to http://www.opensource.org, also
there is
some philosophical distinction between open source and free: see
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html
-
also an interesting read:
- http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar
Sistema Operativo
[K.H.]
Aehm.... operating system?
Combination of a kernel handling the hardware access along with a program
collection which allows all basic file operations, compiling,....
GNU/Linux would be one.
RMS
[K.H.]
Root mean Square -- see mathematical textbook.
Oops the physicist broke through.
Its also the initials of Richard M. Stallman: www.stallman.org or maybe
http://www.eff.org (Electronic Frontier Foundation) for more on him.
Linus
[K.H.]
http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/faqs/linus
Distribución
[K.H.]
Distribution
"Linux" is only the kernel of an operating system. Along with it one needs
GNU
tools and a lot of other free, open source or commercial software for a
productive computer system.
Companies evolved which pack ready made systems including a kernel and a
selection
of tools and programs acording to their distribution philosophy.
Even if the software and kernel itself is free and freely redistributable
the
companies can charge for the work to arrange everything so one can choose
what to
install and make sure that everything will work together. Also you will
get about 1
to 7 CD and a handbook from most of them.
Debian, Red Hat
[K.H.]
as well as SuSE, slackware, Mandrake, icelinux,.... however they are all
named are
distributions of various philosophy: slackware beeing the "original" open
source
variant.
[Heather]
Hardly the first, but the best maintained survivor from the old days.
Hit the net looking for the keywords "Yggdrasil" or "Soft Landing Systems"
or even see the earliest issues of Linux Journal (SSC's magazine) for
some really early distributions.
Many distros can easily be found at their .com or .org domain. Linux
Weekly News (LWN) has a really nice sidebar leading to lots of distros,
many especially tuned for some special purpose.
LUG
[K.H.]
Linux User Group -- local clubs who meet to discuss and help with Linux.
This list is neither complete nor very objective, so have a loog at your
search
engine of choice for more details and different views
K.-H.
This page edited and maintained by the Editors
of Linux Gazette
Copyright © 2001
Published in issue 67 of Linux Gazette June 2001
|
![[ Table Of Contents ]](../../gx/navbar/toc.jpg)
![[ Answer Guy Current Index ]](../../gx/dennis/answertoc.jpg)
![[ Index of Past Answers ]](../../gx/dennis/answerpast.jpg)
