Linux Introduction

Linux is operating system developed in 1991 by finnish software

engineer name “Linus Torvalds” and the free software
foundation (fsf). He published the Linux kernel under his own
license and was restricted to commercial use. Linux uses most
of its tools from GNU software, and they are under GNU
copyright. In 1992, he released the kernel under GNU general
public license. Today, Linux is not owned by a single company,
person or individual unlike Microsoft windows OS, which is
owned by a single company called Microsoft.
Linux is a open source operating system that is designed and
developed by a number of different groups or associations with
the objective of modifying the original product. It is available in
source code format and anyone can download from its
authorized websites.
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 Components of Linux operating system

The Linux operating system consists of three components.

Hardware: Hardware is the bottom layer. It is made up of
several devices such as a CPU, Memory, Hard disk, Printers,
RAM and etc…
Kernel: The kernel is the core part of Linux. It is the central part
of the operating system which provides system services to
application programs and the shell. It provides an interface
between user programs and hardware. It manages processes,
memory, I/o and the timer. It consist of various modules and it
interacts directly with the underlying hardware. It also hides
complex details of hardware.
System libraries: System libraries are special function, which
are used to implement the functionality of the operating
system and do not require the kernel module’s code access
rights.
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 Advantages of Linux

 Open source software: The Linux kernel is released under

the GNU GPL open source software license. Most distros
include hundreds of application, with many option in
almost every category. Many distributions also includes
proprietary software, such as device drivers provided by
manufacturers, to support their hardware.
 Licensing costs: Unlike Microsoft Windows or apple
macOS, Linux has no explicit licensing fees. While system
support is available for fee from many Linux vendors, the
OS itself is free to copy and use. Some IT organizations
have increased their saving by switching their server
software from commercial OS to Linux.
 Reliability: Linux is considered a reliable OS and is well
supported with security patches. Linux is also considered
to be stable, meaning it can run in most circumstances.
Linux also copes with errors when running software and
unexpected input.
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 Disadvantages of Linux

 Lack of established standard: There is no standard

version of Linux, which may be good for optimizing
Linux for particular applications, but less so for
deploying standardized server or desktop images. The
wide range of options can complicate support as a
result.
 Support costs: While an organization can
acquire Linux freely without licensing fees,
support is not free. Most enterprise Linux
distributors like SUSE and Red Hat offer
support contracts. Depending on the
circumstances, thee license fees can reduce
savings significantly.
 Unsupported hardware: While many hardware
manufacturers make Linux device drivers
available for their products, many do not.
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 Commands of Linux
Command Description
Cat[filename] Display file’s contents to the
standard output device.
Cd / directorypath Change to directory.
Chmod [options]mode Change a file’s permissions.
filename
Chown[option]filename Change who owns a file.
Clear Clear a command line
screen/window for a fresh
start.
Cp[option]source destination Copy files and directories.
Date[option] Display or set the system date
and time.
Df[option] Display used and available disk
space.
Du[options] Show how much space each
file takes up.
File[option] filename Determine what typeof data is
within a file.
Is[options] List directory contents.
Mkdir[options] directory Create a new directory.
Mv[options] source Rename or move file or
destination directories.
Password[name[password]] Change the password or allow
to change any password.
Pwd Display the pathname for the
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current directory.
 Examples:-
1. Cat

2.cd
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3.pwd

4.du
5.mkdir

6.file
7.mv

8.df
 9.date

10.ls