History of Linux

In 1991, while studying computer science at the University of Helsinki, Linus Torvalds began a project that later became the Linux kernel. 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. Development was done on MINIX using the GNU C Compiler.

In order to facilitate development, the files were uploaded to the FTP server of FUNET in September 1991. Ari Lemmke at Helsinki University of Technology (HUT), who was one of the volunteer administrators for the FTP server at the time, named the project "Linux" on the server without consulting Torvalds.

Torvalds announced in 1996 that there would be a mascot for Linux, a penguin. This was because when they were about to select the mascot, Torvalds mentioned he was bitten by a little penguin on a visit to the National Zoo & Aquarium in Canberra, Australia. Larry Ewing provided the original draft of today's well-known mascot based on this description. The name Tux was suggested by James Hughes as a derivative of Torvalds' UNIX, along with being short for the tuxedo, a type of suit with a color similar to that of a penguin.

Linux Distributions

Because Linux is open-source, there is no one vendor selling it; theoretically, you could download the kernel, a desktop environment, and various other utilities and applications, and install them all yourself. In practice, these OS components are packaged together into what's called a distribution — basically, a Linux OS tweaked in a particular way that's ready to use out of the box.

Again, in theory, anyone could put a Linux distribution together, but most are offered by companies and nonprofit organizations. Commercial distributors may charge for their distribution or offer optional paid support services. Some of the better-known Linux distributions are:

-> Ubuntu

-> SuSE

-> Debian

-> Red Hat

-> Fedora

-> Oracle Linux

-> CentOS

-> Arch Linux

-> Mandriva

Linux vs. Windows

As a commercial end-user OS, Linux never spread beyond a tiny niche, and the days of those battles have largely passed.

But when it comes to Linux servers, that's a different story. Linux is widely seen as a major player in the server market on par with Microsoft and other vendors and in the most lucrative tech market to emerge in this century. The Android mobile OS is, deep down, a derivative of Linux, and Android is the top player in the mobile market where, despite repeated attempts, Microsoft has failed to grab a toehold.

What is Linux used for?

Due to its flexibility, Linux has found its way into a number of niches, from embedded products to supercomputing servers. Over the past decade, there has been an explosion in the number of Linux-based products that have had a major impact in the IT space, including:

Kubernetes: Container cluster manager from Google

OpenStack: A software platform for infrastructure as a service cloud platform

Open Daylight: Linux Foundation’s Java-based project to accelerate the adoption of SDNs and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV)

Docker: Software container program

Open vSwitch (OVS): Distributed virtual multilayer switch to provide a switching stack inside virtualization environments. OVS is particularly interesting because it offers a richer set of network features than the basic capabilities in the Linux kernel. If OVS is even moderately successful, it could be an excellent precursor of the shape of things to come in networking.

Future Scope of Linux

-> Emerging segments include the Internet of Things (IoT), wearables, smart home devices, and more. Linux-based operating systems could find their way into a range of connected devices, from our homes and cars to our places of business.

-> High-performance computing has a good chance of becoming a Linux-only space. Linux has practically replaced UNIX and other operating systems in current-generation supercomputers.

Linux could morph into something completely different over the next couple of decades and become the OS of choice for various products and services we can’t even imagine today.

That was a quick brief intro to Linux. Drop a like and share it if you found it informative.

Have a productive day, let's meet in the next blog!