What This Book Is Not
This book makes several assumptions about you, the reader. I hope that we can safely assume thatyou have some working knowledge of PCs and Microsoft‘s Disk Operating System (MS-DOS). (Insome Linux documentation, MS-DOS is also referred to as messy-dos, but I‘ll let you be the judge ofthat!) If you are not familiar with DOS or computers in general, now would be a good time to pickup a book for beginning with PCs. Still, you should be able to follow this book without needingany extra material. - P4
What Is Linux?
Linux is a free UNIX clone designed for the Intel 80386- and 80486-class processors on PCs. Linuxalso works with Pentium-class computers.
Linux supports a wide range of software such as Tex, X Window systems, the GNU C/C++ com-piler, and TCP/IP. It‘s a versatile, very UNIX-like implementation of UNIX, freely distributed by the terms of the GNU General Public License. (See Appendix E, "Copyright Information.") Linuxis also very closely compliant with the Posix. 1 standard, so porting applications between Linux and UNIX systems is a snap.
New users of UNIX and Linux may be a bit intimidated by the size and apparent complexity of thesystem before them. There are many good books on using UNIX out there, for all levels of expertise ranging from novice to expert. However, few (if any) of these books specifically cover the topic ofusing Linux.
Although 95 percent of using Linux is exactly like using other UNIX systems, the most straightfor-ward way to get going on your new system is with a book tailored for Linux. This book will get you started. We could list the 5 percent differences, but as it‘s stated in most of my text books (which bail out of a hard answer with similar phrase): "this is so d**n obvious that we have left it as anexercise for the reader." - P5
How to Pronounce Linux
Pronouncing the word Linux is one of the great mysteries of the Linux world. Americans pronounce the name ‘Linus‘ with a long ‘i‘ sound, as in ‘style‘. However, because Linux was originally based on asmall PC-based implementation of UNIX called Minix (pronounced with a short ), the actual pronunciation of Linux preserves this characteristic: It‘s LIH-nucks. - P5
So What Do I Get with a Linux System?
Linux is a freely distributable version of UNIX developed primarily by Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Linux was further developed with the help of many UNIX programmers and wizards across the Internet, giving the ability to develop and change the system to anyone with enough know-how and gumption to hack a custom UNIX kernel.
UNIX and its clones have long been perceived as large, resource-hungry, disk-chomping systems.
Linux is not such a beast. Linux is small, fast, and flexible. - P6
So, what are some of the important features of Linux that make it so unique? Here are a few: - P6
Full multitasking and 32-bit support.
Linux, like all other versions of UNIX, is a real multitasking system, enabling multiple users to run many programs on the same system at once. The performance of a 50 MHz 486 system running Linux is comparable to many low- to medium-end workstations running proprietary versions of UNIX. Linux is also a full 32-bit operating system, utilizing the special protected-mode features of the Intel 80386 and 80486 processors. - P6
The X Window System.
The X Window System is the de facto industry standard graphics system for UNIX machines. A complete version of the X Window System, known as XFree86, is available for Linux. The X Window System is a very powerful graphics interface, supporting many applications. For example, you can have multiple login sessions in different windows on the screen at one time. Other examples of X Window applications are xtetris, xvier, xlander, and x11perf. - P6
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) support.
This is the set of protocols that links millions of university and business computers into a worldwide network known as the Internet. With an Ethernet connection, you can have access to the Internet or to a local area network from your Linux system. Using SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol), you can access the Internet over the phone lines with a modem. - P7
Virtual memory and shared libraries.
Linux can use a portion of your hard drive as virtual memory, expanding your total amount of available RAM. Linux also implements shared libraries, allowing programs that use standard subroutines to find the code for these subroutines in the libraries at runtime. This saves a large amount of. space on your system, because each application doesn‘t store its own copy of these common routines. - P7
The Linux kernel uses no code from any other proprietary source.
Much of the software available for Linux is free. In fact, a large number of utilities in Linux are developed by the GNU project at the Free Software Foundation in Cambridge, Massachusetts. However, Linux enthusiasts, hackers, programmers, and recently even commercial companies from all over the world, have contributed to the growing pool of Linux software. - P7
GNU software support.
Linux supports a wide range of free software written by the GNU Project, including utilities such as the GNU C and C++ compiler, gawk, groff, and so on. Many of the essential system utilities used by Linux are GNU software. - P7
Linux supports (almost) all of the features of commercial versions of UNIX.
In fact,
some of the features you find in Linux may not be available on other proprietary UNIX systems. - P7
Virtual memory support.
Linux also utilizes all of your system‘s memory, without memory limits or segmentation, through the use of a virtual memory manager. - P7
Linux is cheaper to get than most commercially available UNIX systems and UNIX clones.
If you have the patience and access to the Internet, the only price you pay for Linux is your time. Linux is freely available on the Internet. For a nominal fee of anywhere - P7
Linux requires and uses fewer resources and less memory or disk. space than many MS-DOS or Microsoft Windows systems.
This includes large applications (such as Microsoft Word or Lotus 1-2-3). - P7
Linux has built-in support for networking, multitasking, and other features.
You‘ll see this touted as "New Technology" in systems such as Windows NT. In fact, UNIX (and now, Linux) has implemented this "New Technology" for well over 15 years. - P7
Linux is closely compatible with the IEEE POSIX. 1 standard.
Linux has been developed with software portability in mind, thus supporting many important features of other UNIX standards. - P7
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