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Overview of Linux

Linux is a multi-user, multitasking, 32 bit operating system, which

was developed by Linus Torvalds, a student at the University of Helsinki,
Finland in 1991. Linux is a Unix close and has been written from scratch
by Linus Torvalds. Torvalds was working on Minix, a miniature version of
Unix, mainly used as a teaching aid in universities and colleges. He was
impressed with the features of the Unix operating system and wanted to
create his own version of the Unix operating system and give it freely for
use to everybody.

Features of the Linux OS

1. Multi-Programming - Linux allows many programs to be executed

simultaneously by different users. This feature is called multi-
programming.
2. Multi-Tasking - The ability of any OS to handle the execution of
multiple tasks is known as multi-tasking. When a task is waiting for
the completion of an activity, the CPU, instead of wasting time,
starts executing the next task. Therefore, while one task is waiting
for input from the user, another program could be reading from the
hard disk. A program in Linux is broken down into tasks, each task
being something like reading from or writing to the disk, or waiting
for input from a user. So, it can perform several task simultaneously.
3. Virtual Memory - The amount of physical memory may not always
be sufficient for executing large applications or having multiple
applications active at a point in time. In such situation, a logical
partition can be utilized as the artificial or virtual memory. The
system places the programs and data that are not frequently
required in this portion of the hard disk and loads them in the
memory, whenever required. Thus, it uses the resources of the
computer to the fullest.
4. Shared Libraries - These are sets of functions or sub-routines
maintained as a set of files. All the applications that use these
functions access them from the shared library files instead of
individually maintaining code for them, thus saving hard disk space
and memory.
5. Network Information System - It is possible to share passwords
and group files across a network in Linux using the Network
Information Service (NIS). NIS is a client and server database
system. It is a central database of account information that is used
for account authentication. It was developed by Sun Microsystems
and was originally known as Yellow Pages (YP). Later, its name was
changed to NIS due to trademark reasons.
6. DOS Emulator - Linux has a program called DOSEMU. It creates a
DOS emulator that can execute many DOS applications. DOSEMU
uses an image file of a hard disk to emulate a DOS hard drive so
that you need not have a DOS partition. Linux can also use a DOS
partition, if you have one on your system.
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7. Licensing - Linux is copyrighted under the GNU General Public
License. The licensing for Red Hat Linux states that a person can
make any number of copies of the software and distribute it freely
or charge a price for it. One can freely download Linux from the
Internet for use.
8. Web Server - A Web Server is the software that serves Web Pages.
Linux comes with the Apache Web Server, which is the most popular
Web Server in use today. Apache also supports the Squid proxy
server that helps in improving the performance for accessing the
Internet.
9. Other Features - Linux comes with a lot of other useful and free
software such as text editors, browsers, and scientific application. It
has also utilities like CRON scheduler, StarOffice or Applixware like
Office Suite, Backup utilities etc.

Distributors of Linux

There are many distributors who provide Linux. All the distributors
use the Linux Kernel, which is controlled by Linus Torvalds. These
distributors add their own utilities and applications and sell these as a
customized package. Red Hat, Debian and Slackware are freely usable
and once you buy them, you can sell them yourself. Some of the
Distributors are:
1. Red Hat
2. Caldera
3. Mandrake
4. Debian
5. SuSE
6. Slackware

Basic LINUX Elements

1. Kernel - The core of the Linux system is the Kernel - the operating
system program. The kernel controls the resources of the computer,
allotting them to different users and tasks. It interacts directly with
the hardware, thus making the programs easy to write and portable
across different platforms of hardware. It also maintaining the time
and date and launching applications. Since the kernel
communicates directly with the hardware, the parts of the kernel
must be customized to the hardware features of each system.

2. Shell - The kernel does not deal directly with a user. Instead, the
login process starts up a separate, interactive program, called the
SHELL that has the power to provide the services that a user wants.
It protects the user from having to know the intricate hardware
details. The shell runs like any other program under Linux system.

There are various shells available for Unix/Linux Systems:

Unix Shells:
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1. Bourne Shell - Basic Shell of Unix
2. C Shell - Resembles the C Language.
3. Korn Shell - Combination of Bourne and C Shell.
4. Restricted Shell - Typically used for guest logins.

Linux Shells
1. Bash - Just as Bourne Shell of Unix
2. Pdksh - Public Domain Korn Shell
3. Tcsh - Tom's C Shell
4. ASH - Kenneth Almquist developed it for limited memory computer and
it is lightweight of Bourne Shell Clone.
5. zah - It has best features of Tcsh shell and also it can emulate all the
features of Korn Shell.

Some other shells are - flash, bsh, esh, fsh, Gsh, Gush, Kshell, lsh
etc.

3. Device Drivers - Device drivers are software packages that form a

major part of the Kernel. They control the interaction between the
hardware devices and the operating system.

4. Utilities - Utilities are software tools included with the LINUX

operating system that lets you do miscellaneous jobs such as text
editing, programming and communications.

5. Commands - A LINUX command is a series of characters that you

supply at the prompt in Linux Shell. Linux command is case
sensitive. The first word is the command itself and the rest are the
command's arguments.

File System

Linux treats everything as files. Even a directory is treated as a file

that contains entries for several other files. All the hardware devices, such
as I/O devices, storage devices etc. are all treated as files. The Linux file
system is organized in hierarchy which starts with the root directory which
is represented by a forward slash (/). Generally we get following folders in
the root folder :-

1. /bin - This folder contains all the binary executable files of Linux.

2. /dev - This folder contains device drivers for all the hardware
devices, such as printer, hard disk etc.

3. /etc - This directory contains the system-related data which users

and the system need to refer to, such as the passwd file.
These are generally essential miscellaneous system programs
and configuration files.
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4. /lib - This folder contains all the library function such as c, c++
etc. which is very useful for programmers to develop their
programs.

5. /usr or /home - This folder contains generally home directory of

users.

6. /tmp - All the temporary files get place here which will
automatically created and deleted by Linux.

7. /kernel - This directory contains all the kernel specific code.

Kernel is the heart of the Linux system. It is responsible for
resource allocation, security and low-level hardware
interfaces.

8. /mnt - In this folder other hardware devices like CD-ROM or

floopy's related data contained.

9. /var - This folder has information specific to different utilities of

Linux.

Linux Commands

1. pwd (Print Working Directory) - This command if used then returns

the absolute path of the current working directory.
$ pwd
/usr/rinki/india
$

2. mkdir (Make Directory) - This command is used to create new

directory. We can also create more than one directory at a time
through separating them with spaces between them.
$ mkdir Rajeev
$ mkdir Rajeev/Ranjan Rajeev/Twinkle Rajeev/Gaurav

Note : Linux used "/" symbol instead of "\" for indicating path.

3. cd (Change Directory) - This command is used to change path from

one folder to another. We can use cd command in following way :-
$ cd Rajeev /* Get changed into folder Rajeev
$ cd .. /* Come back at parent folder
$ cd / /* Come back at root directory, i.e. "/"
$ cd /* Come back at user's parent directory

4. clear (Clear Screen) - This command is used to clear the screen.

$ clear

5. man <command> (Manual of Command) - This command is used to

get help about any Linux command.
$ man cd
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6. ls - List Files - This command is used to see the directory and files of
specified path.
$ ls /* Shows directory width wise
$ ls -l /* Shows directory with full details, i.e. Owner, Group Owner,
file type, file size etc.
$ ls -la /* Show hidden files too

7. cat - This command is used to Create or see the content of one or

more files. For creating file we have to use ">" symbol and after
completing file Press "^+D".
$ cat > Rajeev
He is a boy. He can do his talk efficiently. ^D
/* A file created.

$ cat Rajeev /* Show content.

He is a boy. He can do his talk efficiently. ^D
$ cat Rajeev Raman /* Shows content of both files

8. cp - Copy - This command is used to copy one or more file or folder

with new name or at new place.
$ cp Rajeev Rakesh /* Make Rakesh just duplicate of Rajeev
$ cp -r India Bharat /* Copies folder India with all its files and sub-
directories with a new name - Bharat.

9. rm - This command is used to remove file(s) or folder(s) from disk.

$ rm zz /* Delete the file "zz".
$ rm -r Ranjan /* Delete the folder Ranjan with all its sub-folder and
files.
$ rmdir Rani /* Delete the folder Rani if it is blank folder.

10. mv - This command is used to move a file or folder to another

location as well as it is also used to rename a file or folder.
$ mv Rajeev Ranjan /* Rename the folder Rajeev with Ranjan
$ mv B.txt Rajeev/A.txt /* Move the file B.Txt into Folder Rajeev

11. more or less - This command is used to show the content of a file
screen wise if the content is too large. Both command shows one
screenful message at a time but while we use "more" then at next
page we can't go to previous page but in case of "less" command
we can also go back. To quit from here we have to press "q".

Linux Installation

To install Linux in our hard disk first of all we need minimum 2 GB

blank spaces in our hard disk. If someone likes to keep two or more
operating system on the same hard disk, then he should leave the said
space unpartitioned. In this case we also need a boot loader who can
prompt us to ask that on which Operating System a user wants to work at
that time. Generally LILO (LInux LOader) used for it. Now to Start
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Installation make the device your first boot device in which Installation
disk will take place and restart the system. After a few moments, the
installation program screen will appear who will guide about installation
task. In whole this task disk partitioning is a major task. It will prompt for
delete previous partition or create Linux partition in unpartitioned area.
We have to make mainly two - a /root partition and a swap partition,
however a user can also create additional partitions. The different
partitions can be:
• /swap about double the main memory size, i.e. for a system having
64 MB RAM should get 128 MB swap space.
• /root It should about 60% of the available space, i.e. 1200 MB in a 2
GB Harddisk.
• /bin About 20% of the available space, i.e. 400 MB in a 2 GB
harddisk. /usr Remaining all space should allocate for /usr. Actually
this folder may have lot of space because all the user's files and
folders take place here.