Linux










3 definitions retrieved

Dictionary

Linux
n 1: an open-source version of the UNIX operating system
Dictionary

Linux

("Linus Unix") /li'nuks/ (but see below)
An implementation of the Unix kernel originally written
from scratch with no proprietary code.

The kernel runs on Intel and Alpha hardware in the general
release, with SPARC, PowerPC, MIPS, ARM, Amiga,
Atari, and SGI in active development. The SPARC, PowerPC,
ARM, PowerMAC - OSF, and 68k ports all support shells,
X and networking. The Intel and SPARC versions have
reliable symmetric multiprocessing.

Work on the kernel is coordinated by Linus Torvalds, who holds
the copyright on a large part of it. The rest of the
copyright is held by a large number of other contributors (or
their employers). Regardless of the copyright ownerships, the
kernel as a whole is available under the GNU {General Public
License}. The GNU project supports Linux as its kernel until
the research Hurd kernel is completed.

This kernel would be no use without application programs.
The GNU project has provided large numbers of quality tools,
and together with other public domain software it is a rich
Unix environment. A compilation of the Linux kernel and these
tools is known as a Linux distribution. Compatibility modules
and/or emulators exist for dozens of other computing
environments.

The kernel version numbers are significant: the odd numbered
series (e.g. 1.3.xx) is the development (or beta) kernel which
evolves very quickly. Stable (or release) kernels have even
major version numbers (e.g. 1.2.xx).

There is a lot of commercial support for and use of Linux,
both by hardware companies such as Digital, IBM, and
Apple and numerous smaller network and integration
specialists. There are many commercially supported
distributions which are generally entirely under the GPL. At
least one distribution vendor guarantees Posix compliance.
Linux is particularly popular for {Internet Service
Providers}, and there are ports to both parallel
supercomputers and embedded microcontrollers. Debian is
one popular open source distribution.

The pronunciation of "Linux" has been a matter of much debate.
Many, including Torvalds, insist on the short I pronunciation
/li'nuks/ because "Linus" has an /ee/ sound in Swedish
(Linus's family is part of Finland's 6% ethnic-Swedish
minority) and Linus considers English short /i/ to be closer
to /ee/ than English long /i:/ dipthong. This is consistent
with the short I in words like "linen". This doesn't stop
others demanding a long I /li:'nuks/ following the english
pronunciation of "Linus" and "minus". Others say /li'niks/
following Minix, which Torvalds was working on before Linux.

{More on pronunciation
(http://www.foldoc.org/pub/linux-pronunciation)}.

LinuxHQ (http://www.linuxhq.com/). {slashdot
(http://slashdot.org/)}. freshmeat (http://freshmeat.net/).
Woven Goods (http://www.fokus.gmd.de/linux/). {Linux
Gazette (http://www.ssc.com/lg)}.

funet Linux Archive (ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/Linux), {US
mirror (ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/)}, {UK Mirror
(ftp://sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/Linux/)}.

(2000-06-09)

Dictionary

Linux
/lee'nuhks/, /li'nuks/, not, /li:'nuhks/, n.

The free Unix workalike created by Linus Torvalds and friends
starting about 1991. The pronunciation /li'nuhks/ is preferred
because the name `Linus' has an /ee/ sound in Swedish (Linus's family
is part of Finland's 6% ethnic-Swedish minority) and Linus considers
English short /i/ to be closer to /ee/ than English long /i:/. This
may be the most remarkable hacker project in history -- an entire
clone of Unix for 386, 486 and Pentium micros, distributed for free
with sources over the net (ports to Alpha and Sparc and many other
machines are also in use).

Linux is what GNU aimed to be, and it relies on the GNU toolset.
But the Free Software Foundation didn't produce the kernel to go with
that toolset until 1999, which was too late. Other, similar efforts
like FreeBSD and NetBSD have been technically successful but never
caught fire the way Linux has; as this is written in 2002, Linux has
effectively swallowed all proprietary Unixes except Solaris and is
seriously challenging Microsoft. It has already captured 37% of the
Internet-server market and over 25% of general business servers.

An earlier version of this entry opined "The secret of Linux's
success seems to be that Linus worked much harder early on to keep
the development process open and recruit other hackers, creating a
snowball effect." Truer than we knew. See bazaar.

(Some people object that the name `Linux' should be used to refer
only to the kernel, not the entire operating system. This claim is a
proxy for an underlying territorial dispute; people who insist on the
term GNU/Linux want the FSF to get most of the credit for Linux
because RMS and friends wrote many of its user-level tools. Neither
this theory nor the term GNU/Linux has gained more than minority
acceptance).


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