Linux Introduction
Table of Contents
What is Linux?
Quoting from Wikipedia
Linux is a family of free and open-source software operating systems built around the Linux kernel. Typically, Linux is packaged in a form known as a Linux distribution (or distro for short) for both desktop and server use. The defining component of a Linux distribution is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name. The Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to refer to the operating system family, as well as specific distributions, to emphasize that most Linux distributions are not just the Linux kernel, and that they have in common not only the kernel, but also numerous utilities and libraries, a large proportion of which are from the GNU project
Why use Linux?
- Faster, Secure, Stable
- it helps that developers from all over the world contribute, instead of just a single company
- Highly configurable
- Suitable for both single/multiuser environment
- Well defined hierarchy and permissions to allow networking across different groups and sites
- Strong set of commands to automate repetitive manual tasks
- Read more on using Linux and whether it fits your computing needs on computefreely
Where is Linux deployed?
- Servers
- Supercomputers
- To quote TOP500 article on wikipedia, "Since November 2017, all the listed supercomputers (100% of the performance share) use an operating system based on the Linux kernel"
- Embedded/IoT devices like POS, Raspberry Pi
- Smart phones
- Android - built on top of Linux kernel
- iOS - Unix based
- Personal and Enterprise Computers
- And many more uses, thanks to being open source
- Usage Share of Operating Systems
Linux Distros
There are various Linux flavors called 'distribution' (distro for short), to cater the needs of beginners to advanced users as well as highly customized as per end use case
- There are hundreds of known distributions
- One can keep track of them at distrowatch
- Popular Linux Distros compared
- Light Weight Linux Distros
Installation
Usually, you'll find installation instructions from respective website of the distro you chose. If you need an overview of installation process, this should help