What Linux is:
Linux is a free Unix-type ' operating system' . An 'operating-system ' is a computer program that organises access to a computer's processor, data storage devices (i.e. disk drives) and other I/O (input-output) devices in a given way.
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History:
It was first conceived by a Finn, Linus Torvals in 1991 as a 21year old student in Helsinki. He wanted to implement an improved version of a clone of Unix for his Intel-386-based PC. (Unix is a program from the early 1970's that is popular on large multi-user computers primarily in universities.)
With the assistance of programmers around the world, linux has grown into a substantial project. Today, it supports true multitasking, virtual memory, proper memory management, TCP/IP networking, and other features of modern Unix-type systems.
Linux developed as a free and open program (i.e. free for the user to share, and released (under the GPL ) with the coded-instructions in intelligible form). This would not have been possible without the GNU (programming) tools developed and maintained by Richard Stallman and co-workers of the Free Software Foundation (FSF).
GNULinux is now the most widely used Unix. And it has spawned numerous other ' free and open-source' projects some of which like the KDE project are even larger than Linux. The Cathedral and the Bazaar is seminal article on the history, methodology and philosophy of linux.
GNULinux runs on computers with Intel x-86 processors (i.e. the venerable PC). It also runs on more processors than well known proprietary (os) programs.
Thus it runs on computers with powerPC- and SPARC processors such as those made by the companies Apple, IBM, and Sun et al. It also runs on hand-held and wearable computers, modern TV set-top boxes and 'embedded computers' with low-power RISC processors such as the strongARM , SuperH, MIPS, Sharq, and Crusoe MPU's .
:Linux
System:
A Modern Linux 'software' package consists of the Linux kernel, Graphical User Interfaces (GUI), networking /internet tools, programming languages editors, office automation programs, etc. .
Strictly speaking Linux is just the kernel. The other programs are put in by the distribution companies .
:Kernel:
The nerve centre of a Linux system is the kernel. This is the compiled code which enables the processor to communicate with memory and I/O peripherals such as keyboard, mouse etc.
The kernel is under constant development and is always available in both the latest stable release and the latest experimental release.
::Kernel
Continued..
Kernel releases are marked by three sets of integers separated by dots (such as 2.5.1). If the second integer is odd, the kernel is experimental. If it is even the kernel is stable.
The Modern linux kernel design is modular, so that the actual code loaded at boot-time is relatively small yet able to load functions as needed, and then free the memory afterwards. Because of this, the kernel remains small, fast and flexible.
More information about kernel releases are available from here.
Currently the popular stable kernel series is the 2.4.x (which work well with x86 machines with modern Pentium2/3/4(and clones) CPU's.
Linux machines are fast, because the operating system is very efficient at managing resources such as memory, CPU functions, and disk space. They are also secure (and generally immune from computer viruses for example) , because system devices are not readily accessible for mis-use. They are also renowned for their stability.
::Graphical
User Interface:
These area has made significant strides recently. A significant milestone in the development of Linux is the porting of the X-window system by Orest Zborowski to Linux and the forming of the xfree86 group. As a result there are several high quality GUI's for linux. The main two are KDE and GNOME.
:::Programming:
Linux has an excellent program development environment . And nearly all compilers and interpreters for Linux are free and covered under the GPL, which guarantees that they will remain free. And they are generally superior to commercial ones. Linux systems come standard with the GNU C /C++ compilers and an assembler, and often include Pascal, and FORTRAN. Two excellent C/C++ frameworks are QT and GTK . Borland has also just released Java-Builder for linux. In addition, modern languages like Perl , Python , LISP , Prolog etc. are all available, and completely free.
And the source code for nearly any Linux program is freely available. Thus bugs are discovered and corrected quickly and program development is faster than with commercial 'software' companies.
::::Networking:
Linux is in its element in a network. It comes with excellent networking capabilities. Some notable networking programs that are bundled with Linux are Samba (for LAN), Apache (for inter-net ) and Sendmail (for email) server applications.
::::Scientific/Educational
Programs
Because Unix has been the academic's computer operating-system for the last 3 decades, there is a larger reservoir of programs in Computer Science and Engineering, Astronomy, and Science (including crystallography, molecular modeling etc.) that run on Linux.
Recently there has been a push to create 'edu-ware' for both KDE and GNOME to introduce linux to schools.