Free. Perhaps a few years ago this issue was not so relevant, but now the attitude towards intellectual property is different. More and more people are realizing that a pirated copy of Windows can bring big trouble. And few people are ready to fork out for a paid licensed version of Windows. As well as for the purchase of programs running under this OS. Once you install Linux, you'll get a suite of thousands of free programs. Although they are not as familiar as Windows programs, they are absolutely functional.
Reliability. The correct operation of the hardware of your PC will allow Linux to work for years without rebooting and freezing. And the Reset button will never be needed at all.
Security. Linux is virtually free of viruses. The very construction of the operating system excludes the operation of malicious programs. And for this you can do without antivirus programs that slow down your computer and interfere with work. You don't need to update anti-virus databases all the time and scan your hard drive for viruses, wasting valuable time.
open source. This makes it possible to use and modify the code as you wish. You can at any time correct any errors or shortcomings of the system, as well as expand its functionality by writing add-ons or programs that work under its control.
At the moment, a huge community of programmers has formed around Linux, who are constantly improving the system. They develop new versions and variations of this OS, write a wide variety of programs that work under Linux.
This operating system is the strongest in the field of server maintenance.
Linux operating systems
linux- the general name of UNIX-like operating systems based on the kernel of the same name and the libraries and system programs compiled for it, developed as part of the GNU project. GNU/Linux runs on PC-compatible systems from the Intel x86 family, as well as IA-64, AMD64, PowerPC, ARM, and many more.
The GNU/Linux operating system also often includes programs that complement this operating system, and application programs that make it a full-fledged multifunctional operating environment. Unlike most other operating systems, GNU/Linux does not come with a single "official" bundle. Instead, GNU/Linux comes in a large number of so-called distributions, which link GNU programs with the Linux kernel and other programs.
Development
Unlike Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and commercial UNIX-like systems, GNU/Linux does not have a geographic development center. There is no organization that owns this system; there is not even a single coordinating center. Programs for Linux are the result of the work of thousands of projects. Some of these projects are centralized, some are concentrated in firms. Many projects bring together hackers from all over the world who know each other only by correspondence. Anyone can create their own project or join an existing one, and, if successful, the results of the work will become known to millions of users. Users take part in testing free software, communicate directly with developers, which allows them to quickly find and fix bugs and implement new features.
It is this flexible and dynamic development system, which is impossible for closed source projects, that makes GNU/Linux extremely cost-effective. The low cost of free development, well-established testing and distribution mechanisms, the involvement of people from different countries with different visions of problems, the protection of the code by the GPL license - all this has become the reason for the success of free software.
Of course, such a high development efficiency could not fail to interest large companies that began to open their projects. This is how Mozilla (Netscape, AOL), OpenOffice.org (Sun), a free clone of Interbase (Borland) - Firebird, SAP DB (SAP) appeared. IBM facilitated porting GNU/Linux to its mainframes.
On the other hand, open source significantly reduces the cost of developing closed systems for GNU/Linux and reduces the price of the solution for the user. This is why GNU/Linux has become the platform often recommended for products such as Oracle, DB2, Informix, SyBase, SAP R3, Domino.
In this article, I will try to tell you as simply and clearly as possible about what is linux, what is a linux distribution, I will talk about the features of Linux and the differences from the Windows operating system, we will also talk about the graphical user interface in Linux and much more.
What is Linux?
linux is a free operating system for computers based on the Linux kernel.
Linux kernel- This is the main component of the operating system, which is the center of this system, around which everything is built. The Linux kernel coordinates all activities between the computer hardware and all operating system components, including applications. Thus, the Linux kernel is the base, the basis on which the Linux operating system is built.
The Linux kernel first appeared in 1991, developed by Finnish programmer Linus Torvalds.
Official symbol of Linux is a penguin named Tux, which is different from "ordinary" penguins with yellow beak and paws. Therefore, do not be surprised that almost all mentions of Linux are accompanied by such a penguin.
The Linux operating system is a modular system and it is extensible, thus, the Linux operating system consists not only of the kernel, it also includes a graphical shell ( graphical user interface), a set of applications, and other components that connect to and interact with the Linux kernel.
Software for Linux is distributed in the form of packages and is stored in special so-called repositories.
repository is a repository that stores application packages or just packages to extend the functionality of the Linux operating system. The repositories can be freely accessed from the operating system, so you can install additional programs very easily.
Linux GUI
The main and popular graphical shells in Linux are:
- KDE (K Desktop Environment) - one of the largest and most popular graphical shells, has a beautiful, convenient and functional interface, due to this it is quite demanding on computer resources;
- GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment) is another desktop environment that is widely used and is also very popular and functional. Starting with version 3, GNOME began to use the technology GNOME Shell, which made this environment completely new and significantly different from the classic version. It was this fact that inspired the creation of new shells that continued the classic GNOME environment, but with a different name;
- MATE- has an intuitive and, most importantly, convenient user interface, due to this it is very attractive. This environment is a continuation of the classic GNOME interface;
- Cinnamon- Another continuation of the classic GNOME with the use of modern technologies. Very comfortable, functional and beautiful desktop environment;
- xfce- a simple, functional and at the same time very fast and lightweight graphical shell;
- LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) is one of the lightest and fastest desktop environments that is not demanding on computer resources, so it has a very conservative interface.
Feature of Linux and difference from Windows
The main feature and difference between Linux and the Windows family of operating systems is that Linux uses a completely different approach to organizing the file system and using completely different types of file systems.
In Windows, you are used to seeing logical drives C, D, and so on; in Linux, there are no such drives. Instead, Linux has a root (/) from which everything grows. All file and directory addresses start from the root, all partitions are mounted to the root, including physical disks ( USB flash drives and so on).
Thus, absolutely all physical disks and partitions are combined into a single file structure, starting with the root (/).
Linux, as already noted, uses other file systems, not like, for example, Windows - NTFS or FAT, although Linux can work with these types of file systems.
Linux actively uses the following types of file systems:
- ext4- a modern journaling file system, which is standard for Linux;
- btrfs- a fairly new file system based on B-tree structures, in some tests it even shows better performance compared to ext4;
- xfs- this file system is distinguished by a fairly high performance in terms of writing and reading data. However, due to the nature of this file system, there is a risk of data loss in case of serious failures.
In general, the internal workings of Linux and Windows systems, of course, are significantly different, but today for the average home computer user, these differences are almost invisible. Modern Linux is a very user-friendly, already user-oriented operating system.
Nevertheless, Windows still remains the most popular operating system, and just because of this, the most vulnerable. Since it is under Windows that most viruses are created, daily "bad" developers are looking for vulnerabilities in this operating system in order to create another virus.
In Linux, things are much better with viruses; Much less viruses are created under Linux, and as a result, Linux is considered a safer and more virus-resistant operating system.
In terms of software, Linux has become so widespread that a huge number of applications are being developed for this system, including the most popular ones that are in Windows. And by the way, installing applications in modern Linux has become much easier than in Windows. The installation process resembles something like installing applications on smartphones, i.e. everything is installed from one point in one click. That is, you launch a system component that accesses the repositories and reads the list of available packages ( with description, with ratings, with comments from other users), and you just click on the one you need and that's it. Of course, not all Linux distributions have such functionality, but in the most popular ones, the installation happens exactly like this.
Also, the main difference from Windows is that Linux is a completely free and open source operating system. Any developer can modify it and create their own system on its basis with absolutely legal rights. All software in Linux is mostly free as well. Linux is free to distribute and use. Therefore, there are a huge number of Linux distributions, and what it is, I'll tell you now.
What is a Linux distribution?
Linux distribution is a variation of the Linux operating system. There are many Linux distributions, as any developer can use the Linux kernel and create their own operating system. Thus, developers unite in communities and create operating systems based on the Linux kernel, which are distributions. Distributions include all the necessary software for work, and often most distributions have everything you need to start using the system immediately after installation, unlike the same Windows, where you need to install the software necessary for work after installing the system.
Also, distributions can be created and maintained by various companies, and such distributions may already be paid.
A Linux distribution can be based on another distribution, and thus, countless varieties of distributions are born that are based on each other and they all have the same base, the same foundation.
Almost every distribution has its own repository, which stores all packages compatible and supported by the distribution, respectively, when installing applications from standard repositories, you always install only verified versions of programs.
Linux distributions can be roughly divided into two very large branches of development, two directions. Here I mean the division according to the way the software is organized and managed, i.e. packages.
There are two popular package management systems:
- DEB- the package file format used by the Debian distribution and all distributions based on it;
- RPM is a package manager used in the Red Hat distribution, as well as in many other popular distributions.
If you are a beginner Linux user, then you do not need to look at what package management system the distribution is based on, you need to look at the distribution as a final product, i.e. for what purposes it was designed. I brought this division only so that you know that it exists, it will practically not affect your acquaintance with the Linux operating system in any way. The only time you will run into this is when you install third party software that is not in the standard repositories. Since you will need to choose the type of package to install that matches your system.
Before you switch to Linux, you need to know what a particular distribution is designed and intended for. Since there are, for example, distributions that do not have a graphical shell, i.e. server systems, there are distributions that are purely command-line driven and designed for advanced users, but at the same time, there are distributions that are as simple and user-oriented as possible that are not inferior to Windows.
We will talk more about Linux distributions in the next article.
That's all I have for today, bye!
Hello dear friend! Today I decided to make an informational article for you, the topic of which is the Linux operating system (Linux). Perhaps this is the only alternative and quite a replacement for the popular and well-known Windows OS from Microsoft.
Let's plunge into the world of history and see where the legs grow from and understand not only the first steps, but also briefly go through the entire path of Linux development.
I know that there are fans of listening, not reading texts, so everyone who wants to watch the video:
In the capital of Finland, Helsinki, there lived a young guy Linus Torvalds, who in 1988 entered the University of Helsinki at the Faculty of Informatics. At school, the student excelled in mathematics and physics, that is, he was very capable of learning. And in 1991, a young programmer, inspired by Andrew Tanenbaum's book about the Minix operating system, takes on the creation of his own operating system, and to be precise, the development of the kernel of the GNU / Linux operating system, which today is one of the most popular free operating systems. systems.
I have not used Linux myself, but after reading a lot of material on the topic, I realized that it was worth a try. According to many, Linux OS will not make you experience difficulties when working with it. Although there are a lot of those who allegedly start a rumor about the "unsuitability" of the bulk of computer users to the system.
In fact, even a person who understands little about PCs and laptops will be able to install, configure the OS in a couple of hours and at the same time work with all applications without problems.
Features and Benefits of Linux OS!
Free Linux.
At the moment, the freeness of the entire operating system is quite a virtue. Those who use Windows should understand that this is most likely a pirated version. Yes, that's right, but don't be alarmed, a lot of people have pirated versions installed, so breathe evenly. The license for Windows and for the licensed programs of this system cost money and, as a rule, no one is willing to pay. There is an obvious way out: install Linux with thousands of free programs. Of course, the programs are different from the usual Windows applications, but their performance is in no way inferior. Get used to one OS, get used to another.
Linux Reliability.
Indeed, Linux is a reliable system, and programs installed here will not freeze, unlike Windows, which will definitely slow down the entire computer some time after installing the system.
Linux security.
Linux is virtually free of viruses. The unique construction of the operating system excludes the operation of malicious programs. All this allows you not to acquire an antivirus, which also slows down the work of your iron assistant and wastes your time.
Open source Linux.
YOU can easily view the source data of Linux, which allows you to modify the code based on your desires. You can expand the functionality, create programs, prescribe some additions.
At first, Linux was empty. Over time, volunteers developed programs for the OS, finalized the system. Later, huge communities of programmers were formed, which in turn are constantly improving and developing Linux to this day, developing new programs.
It will take too long to talk in detail about all the achievements, so I will simply say that the pace of development today is very high.
Linux user interface.
On a Linux system, users execute workflows using the command line (CLI) or graphical user interface (GUI), or through the appropriate hardware controls.
Generally, a graphical user interface is preferred, where the command line is also available, through a terminal emulator window or in a separate virtual console.
Programs developed for Linux are not at the highest level and are available exclusively through the command line.
The command line is a fairly simple interprocess communication mechanism.
On computers, the most popular user interfaces are based on desktop environments such as KDE Plasma Desktop, GNOME, and Xfce.
Linux development.
An important fact about Linux is that it runs on a variety of processor architectures.
If you compare Windows or Mac OS X with Linux, there is one very interesting difference: Linux does not have a development center. There are no main organizations, owners, single centers, the developed programs are the result of thousands of projects. They are everywhere, some projects represent firms, other projects form an association of hackers from different parts of the world. You, too, can join this truly global cause, develop a program, contribute and open new opportunities for a million users. By the way, users can directly participate in testing and negotiate with developers, which allows you to fix bugs, make innovations and adjustments.
Troubles and innovations.
Linux has been criticized for quite a long time for its inconvenience on desktop computers, especially due to the perceived lack of full-fledged versions of the programs we all know (usually office suites) and problems with hardware support. The disadvantages of the system were noted by the complexity of studying, difficulties in setting up the equipment.
New Linux distributions have purposefully focused on this issue and greatly improved the position of Linux among the desktop OS.
Distribution(eng. distribute - distribute) is a form of software distribution.
Because of this, Linux has rapidly gained respect and popularity for home users and small businesses. All thanks to the operating system Gutsy Gibbon (Ubuntu 7.10) from Canonical.
You can download distributions of the Linux kernel by entering a query in the search engine: linux download and follow the first tabs, everything is quite logically described there!
This issue is coming to an end, information on this topic will not be superfluous to anyone. If there is a creative desire to understand this topic better, then you can safely begin to act. I wish you perseverance and good luck!
And with you was, Programmer!
Newcomers to the Linux world are often confused by the variety of Linux distributions. Often it is difficult for them to understand what it is and they are lost in their huge numbers. But in fact, here everything can be grouped and presented in the form of a coherent picture to make it easier to understand and navigate everything.
We have already talked about that in a separate article. In fact, this is the Linux kernel and a set of various software, we will mean the same under the Linux operating system. Some Linux operating systems use the Linux kernel unchanged, while others modify it to provide greater security or to implement necessary features. The advantages of a particular operating system on Linux depend on the set of software that it uses. In this article, we will look at the main types of Linux operating systems that currently exist.
All systems in this list are in random order, so if the system is in last place, then this does not mean that it is not worthy of attention.
1. Debian and other Deb systems
This group includes distributions based on Debian and others using the Debian package management system. This package system was developed for Debian and is now quite often used by popular distributions, these are Debian itself, Ubuntu, LinuxMint, AstraLinux, Elementary and many others. These distributions use the original Linux kernel with a few fixes that only fix bugs.
2. Red Hat and other Rpm systems
While the community was developing the Deb package management system, Red Hat created its own package manager, Rpm. Then all the traditional Linux distributions were divided into two camps - using deb and rpm. Now both package management systems are good and it cannot be said that it is worse than the other. You can read the details in the article at the link. Now the RPM package management system is used by such distributions as CentOS, Fedora, Red Hat, OpenSUSE and other less popular ones.
3. Arch Linux and based on it
After some time, a few more distributions appeared that did not use either Deb or Rpm. One such distribution is ArchLinux. It uses its own pacman package manager, which allows you to do everything that deb does, but in addition a simple rolling release system is implemented. Thanks to her, the distribution always has the latest software. Arch quickly gained popularity and several distributions were based on it - Manjaro, Antergos, Cinnarch and many others.
4.Gentoo
Many users wanted to be able to compile their system themselves to choose which software to install, as well as get optimized for their hardware. Therefore, a Gentoo distribution was created based on the Linux kernel, which uses the emerge package manager. Here you also get rolling releases, as well as the ability to compile your operating system on your computer with relative ease. The emerge package manager already contains ready-made build scripts, so you don't have to add anything yourself.
5. Linux From Scratch
It's not exactly a distribution, LFS is a set of tools that allow you to build your own distribution based on the Linux kernel. You just take the kernel, take the sources of the necessary programs, all programs from the initialization system and the command shell to the desktop environment, collect it all, configure it and get your distribution kit.
6 Chrome OS
Still later, Google released its operating system for netbooks based on the Linux kernel. In fact, ChromeOS is based on Gentoo, but they are so different that they cannot be combined into one paragraph. In this system, Google implemented such an idea as a cloud operating system Linux. Your workspace is the browser. Here you have to do everything in the browser - edit documents, work with videos and even the Linux terminal in the browser. The files are mostly stored in the cloud. But it's still Linux.
7.Android
Not everyone knows, but the most popular operating system for mobile phones also uses the Linux kernel. From Linux, only the kernel and a few more points are left here, while Google filled the rest with its various frameworks, Java and so on. The possibilities of Linux are limited by the same Bionic security system that prohibits the loading of dynamic libraries, but in the terminal you can work with rebuilt Linux commands, and in a chroot environment you can run a full-fledged Linux distribution.
8 Slackware
A fairly old Linux distribution, which at one time was considered the most Unix "new. Previously, several distributions were based on it, such as Blacktrack, Slax, VectorLinux and others. But then it slowly lost its popularity. It uses its own package manager, which it lacks deb and rpm capabilities, it doesn't support dependency resolution, and the commands to remove and install packages are in separate utilities.
9. OpenWrt and based on it
OpenWrt is a Linux 2017 operating system for routers and routers based on the Linux kernel. In addition to the Linux kernel itself, it comes with a stripped-down version of the C library, standard Linux utilities, and BusyBox. The system takes up little space and is optimized specifically for routers. Most of the settings are done on the command line.
10. Tizen and other IoTs
An operating system based on the Linux kernel, designed for various TVs, smart watches and other smart gadgets. The system is developed based on the Linux kernel by Samsung and is already quite often used. There are applications and SDK for their development.
11. OS for supercomputers
As of 2017, Linux-based operating systems are most commonly used on supercomputers. Each company creates its own solution based on the core, which is optimized for its needs and needs. Of the 500 most powerful supercomputers, 498 run on Linux and two more run on UNIX like the IBM AIX system.
This article will talk about some of the features of the Linux family of operating systems.
- a family of operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Includes open and free software development model.
The beauty of Linux operating systems is that they are absolutely free.
Linux distributions are used by most users to install Linux. The most popular distributions in the world are the following:
Debian Linux is the oldest Linux distribution. Many other images are built on this distribution. Main differences Debian– a strict approach to including non-free software;
ubuntu- a distribution created with the help of Debian and very quickly gained its high popularity. The interface and use of this distribution is very easy and does not require special knowledge. Supports almost all PC hardware and is suitable for any computer; how to install this OS is written in.
Linux Mint- this distribution, in turn, is based on Ubuntu. These two distributions are fully compatible with each other.
The last two will be discussed in this article.
For the average user, to whom the article is dedicated, there are practically no differences between Ubuntu and Linux, except perhaps in design. Speaking about the interface, as I said, it is simply elementary - on the left side (Ubuntu) and the bottom (Linux Mint) is the taskbar, which includes the necessary programs. These programs can be added or removed. As in Windows, the taskbar has a "Start" where you can find all other programs, documents, games, and also search on your computer or on the Internet.
App Center in Linux (App Gird) and Ubuntu (App Store) has a ton of apps, 95% of which are completely free. In the application center you can find many useful utilities, various games and many other software. These applications are installed directly from the center, as well as removed, which is very convenient. These distributions have built-in Flash Player, which saves you from long searches on the Internet, because the official Adobe website does not have a player for all versions of Linux, and there is no player at all for Ubuntu.
Another useful Linux utility is − terminal. , simply put. With it, you can do a lot in Ubuntu and Linux: install an application, move it, delete it, create files and directories, change the shell, and much more. The terminal, of course, will be incomprehensible to an inexperienced user, but it is very easy to learn it.
The last plus, which will be discussed here - viruses. Or rather, their absence. Why Linux doesn't have viruses is a long story, but if you're afraid using Windows, for example, of viruses that can erase important data, or just slow down your computer so that it becomes unusable, switch to Linux. It is very difficult to find a good antivirus for Windows. By the way, ours is constantly updated with various reviews of popular and not very antiviruses, be sure to come and read.
