Introduction to GNU/Linux

Intro to Linux by JMILUG

A word of Caution : The journey of a Linux user is more of a roller-coaster ride.

But it's totally worth it !!

● What is Linux ?● Is Linux an Operating System ?● What's the Penguin doing there ??

Some Facts

● Linux is not an operating system. !!● Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that

allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system.

● Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system.

“ Need is the mother of all invention”

● UNIX OS came with an expensive price & was owned by AT&T.

● MINIX, a Unix-like system intended for academic use whose source code for the system was available, modification and redistribution were restricted. In addition, MINIX's 16-bit design was not well adapted to the 32-bit features of the increasingly cheap and popular Intel 386 architecture for personal computers.

● A 21 yr old Finnish student buys an Intel 80386 board, containing the first x86 microprocessor with 32-bit instruction set .

● Linux initially started as a terminal emulator which Torvalds used to access the large UNIX servers of the university. He wrote the program specifically for the hardware he was using and independent of an operating system because he wanted to use the functions of his new PC with an 80386 processor.

● Development was done on MINIX using the GNU C compiler.

“It all started with an email”

Hello everybody out there using minix -

I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons) among other things).

I've currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and things seem to work. This implies that I'll get something practical within a few months, and I'd like to know what features most people would want. Any suggestions are welcome, but I won't promise I'll implement them :-)

Linus (torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi)

PS. Yes – it's free of any minix code, and it has a multi-threaded fs. It is NOT portable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably never will support anything other than AT-harddisks, as that's all I have :-(.

—Linus Torvalds

“An engine is not the whole car”

GNU/Linux

Awesome Facts about Linux● Only 2 per cent of the code, which was originally written by Torvalds,

remains in the current Linux kernel.

● The top 10 supercomputers in the world use Linux. Linux accounts for 33.8 per cent of the world’s data servers compared to the operating systems from Microsoft, which account for only 7.3 per cent.

● Bullet trains in Japan, the New York Stock Exchange, CERN and the San Francisco traffic control systems run on Linux.

● Some of the biggest technology related companies like Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook etc. use Linux as their primary operating system.

● A Standard Linux Kernel of today has over 10 Million lines of code and it grows at the rate of 10% every year. About 4500 lines of codes are added and 1500 lines of code are changed everyday. Initially in 1991, Linux kernel version 0.01 was released with 10239 lines of code.

● Oscar-winning visual effects of the Titanic by James Cameron came from machines with Linux and Avatar was the last movie completely developed in 3D Applications on Linux platform using Foss Software.

● An asteroid has been named after Torvalds in order to honour him.

“Linux gives you power”

Stop using crap. Start using Linux !!

It's time to claim your freedom

Thank You !!

Vipul Nayyar

B.Tech 3rd year

Linux Enthusiast