[History of Linux]

by

[0901185]
[Manoj Adhikari]
 HISTORY OF LINUX

OPERATING SYSTEMS:

Every Body might have concepts about operating system of computer. Well to define
operating system:

An operating system (OS) is an interface between hardware and user which is responsible for
the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of a computer
that acts as a host for computing applications run on the machine. As a host, one of the
purposes of an operating system is to handle the details of the operation of the hardware. This
relieves application programs from having to manage these details and makes it easier to write
applications. Almost all computers (including handheld computers, desktop computers,
supercomputers, video game consoles) as well as some robots, domestic appliances
(dishwashers, washing machines), and portable media players use an operating system of some
type. Some of the oldest models may, however, use an embedded operating system that may be
contained on a data storage device.

………………………………………………..www.wikipedia.org

Operating systems offer a number of services to application programs and users. Applications
access these services through application programming interfaces (APIs) or system calls. By
invoking these interfaces, the application can request a service from the operating system, pass
parameters, and receive the results of the operation. Users may also interact with the operating
system with some kind of software user interface like typing commands by using command
line interface (CLI) or using a graphical user interface (GUI, commonly pronounced “gooey”).
For hand-held and desktop computers, the user interface is generally considered part of the
operating system. On large multi-user systems like Unix and Unix-like systems, the user
interface is generally implemented as an application program that runs outside the operating
system. (Whether the user interface should be included as part of the operating system is a
point of contention.)………………………..….www.wikipedia.org

LINUX AS AN OPERATING SYSTEM

There are many Operating System developed by companies according to their use, purpose.
Some are developed for general use whereas some are used for specific use. In the field of
General Purpose Operating systems, Microsoft company and its popular OS like Windows
XP, Windows VISTA, Windows 7 are the leader whereas Apple’s Macintosh, and Linux are
the followers. They are widely used for general purpose as well specific purpose because many
applications-multimedia, system utility, office system softwares, professional softwares can be
run easily. Here we will be talking about Linux operating system

ORIGIN OF LINUX

Linux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux
kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source
software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified,
and redistributed, both commercially and non-commercially, by anyone under licenses such as
the GNU GPL.
The name "Linux" comes from the Linux kernel, originally written in 1991 by Linus
Torvalds. The rest of the system usually comprises components such as the Apache HTTP
Server, the X Window System, the GNOME and KDE desktop environments, and utilities and
libraries from the GNU Project (announced in 1983 by Richard Stallman). Commonly-used
applications with desktop Linux systems include the Mozilla Firefox web-browser and the
OpenOffice.org office application suite. The GNU contribution is the basis for the Free
Software Foundation's preferred name GNU/Linux.
Linux is predominantly known for its use in servers, although can be installed on a wide
variety of computer hardware, ranging from embedded devices, mobile phones and even some
watches to mainframes and supercomputers. Linux distributions, installed on both desktop and
laptop computers, have become increasingly commonplace in recent years, partly owing to the
popular Ubuntu distribution and the emergence of netbooks.

THE CREATION OF LINUX….A FUNNY START

In 1991, in Helsinki, Finland, began a project that later became the Linux
kernel. It was initially 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.
1. Linus Tovalds
Development was done on MINIX using the GNU C compiler, which is still
the main choice for compiling Linux today (although the code can be built with
other compilers, such as the Intel C Compiler).

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As Torvalds wrote in his book Just for Fun, he eventually realized that he had written an
operating system kernel. On 25 August 1991, he announced this system in a Usenet posting to
the newsgroup "comp.os.minix.":
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 :-(

EVENTS LEADING TO CREATION

The Unix operating system was conceived and implemented in the 1960s and first released in
1970. Its availability and portability caused it to be widely adopted, copied and modified by
academic institutions and businesses. Its design became influential to authors of other systems.

In 1983, Richard Stallman started the GNU project with the goal of creating a free UNIX-like
operating system.[2] As part of this work, he wrote the GNU General Public License (GPL).
By the early 1990s there was almost enough available software to create a full operating
system. However, the GNU kernel, called Hurd, failed to attract enough attention from
developers leaving GNU incomplete.

Another free operating system project in the 1980s was the Berkeley Software Distribution
(BSD). This was developed by UC Berkeley from the 6th edition of Unix from AT&T. Since
BSD contained Unix code that AT&T owned, AT&T filed a lawsuit (USL v. BSDi) in the early
1990s against the University of California. This strongly limited the development and adoption
of BSD.[3][4]

MINIX, a Unix-like system intended for academic use, was released by Andrew S. Tanenbaum
in 1987. While source code for the system was available, modification and redistribution were

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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.

These factors of a lack of a widely-adopted, free kernel provided the impetus for Torvalds's
starting his project. He has stated that if either the GNU or 386BSD kernels were available at
the time, he likely would not have written his own

LINUX UNDER THE GNU GPL

Torvalds first published the Linux kernel under its own licence, which had a restriction on
commercial activity.

The software to use with the kernel was software developed as part of the GNU project
licensed under the GNU General Public License, a free software license. The first release of the
Linux kernel, Linux 0.01, included a binary of GNU's Bash shell. In the "Notes for linux
release 0.01", Torvalds lists the GNU software that is required to run Linux:

In 1992, he suggested releasing the kernel under the GNU General Public License. He first
announced this decision in the release notes of version 0.12[12]. In the middle of December
1992 he published version 0.99 using the GNU GPL.

Linux and GNU developers worked to integrate GNU components with Linux to make a fully-
functional and free operating system. Torvalds has stated, “making Linux GPL'd was definitely
the best thing I ever did.”

TIMELINE OF LINUX IN DIGITAL WORLD ( DEVELOPMENT)

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Source: www.kernel.org

WHY CHOOSE LINUX?

Here are just a few reasons why you should choose Linux:

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 Stability

Since Linux is based on the stable UNIX operating system, it inherits that stability and
reliability. Our Linux servers have uptimes in the MONTHS.

Linux is open-source, which means the source code is readily available to anyone who wants it.
Since the source code available, thousands of developers all over the world are able to
contribute and improve Linux. As a result, security patches and new drivers come out quickly,
sometimes in less than a day. This insures a very stable operating system and high uptime for
your network operations.
Affordability

You can download Linux software for free from the Internet at Real Time Enterprises´ local
mirror or CDs can be purchased from distribution vendors for as little as $40.

Linux can run on PC-based hardware. This means it´s easy to add disk space or memory. AND,
some services will run very well on a P1 with 64MB RAM, which you probably have
collecting dust at your office.
Speed

Many studies have proven that on equal hardware, Linux is several times faster than Windows
NT. In our own experience a Linux fileserver running Samba was at least 10 times faster than a
Windows NT server and the NT server had faster, better hardware!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

➢ www.google.com
➢ www.wikipedia.org
➢ www.scribd.com
➢ www.about.com
➢ www.kernel.org
➢ www.linux.org

Library journals

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