Linux II

Linux is just a kernel

First but most important information for you is that Linux is not an operating system, it’s just a kernel. I know, I know. Things are getting really confusing for you right now. But I’m hoping they’ll clear up in a bit.

Linux isn’t a complete system like Mac or Windows.

Instead, it’s a central part of a system to which other software must be added in order to get a working computer.

There are many different distributions, in short distros, each with a slightly different set of extra software, added with this central part to make them a complete OS. Thus, there are many versions of Linux, which are actually complete operating systems.

What is a “kernel” in Computing

Now you should first understand what a kernel really is.

Let us understand what a kernel is in layman’s terms. Kernel means the central or most important part of something. The kernel is named because like a seed inside a hard shell, it exists within the OS and controls all the major functions of the hardware.

The Linux kernel is the main component of a Linux operating system (OS) and is the core interface between a computer’s hardware and its processes.

A kernel, in computing, is the core of an operating system. It is a piece of software that is used to control the hardware components of a computer system. It is the first program loaded by the boot loader, and it is the last program running when the computer is turned off. It is the program that allocates the computer’s resources to the other programs that are running.

Let’s understand it with a simple analogy.

Let’s consider our operating systems like vehicles. There are many vehicles, and these are of many types. Like cars, trucks, buses, planes, ships etc. Every vehicle type also has its own variations. Like there are many types of car. But one thing they have in common, like having an engine. Here in all vehicles, we can call the engine a kernel. It is the core component of the vehicle, and other parts are subsidiary and together they create a perfect vehicle.

A kernel, in computing, is the core of an operating system. It is a piece of software that is used to control the hardware components of a computer system. It is the first program loaded by the boot loader, and it is the last program running when the computer is turned off. It is the program that allocates the computer’s resources to the other programs that are running.

History of Linux

Unix was a project created by Bell Labs Engineers in 1969 with the aim of being a uniform operating system for all. It had become hugely popular and many big giant companies started using it. In 1983, Richard Stallman developed the GNU project. It was created to be an open source operating system like UNIX but better. But the developers of GNU started developing the utilities of an operating system first and thought of creating the kernel later.

In 1991 Finnish-American Linus Benedict Torvalds, who was a computer science student from Helsinki created an operating system kernel as a personal hobby project. It was based on MINIX or mini-Unix, which is a Unix-like operating system based on a microkernel architecture. He used the compiler used in GNU project, which we have discussed earlier.

Torvalds created this kernel for his own hardware and it was independent of any OS. Initially, he called it “Freax”. He tried to mean “freax” as it is “free” and “x” to signify as it belongs to the UNIX family. But later it was changed to “Linux.” He started the project just for fun but later it ended up to be such a large project.

Years later in 2001, Torvalds published his autobiography Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary and there he briefly mentioned how a hobby project became worldwide revolutionary. Additionally, you can watch his TED Talk where he openly discussed his revolution and the journey towards.

Why are there so many distros?

While other operating systems like Mac or Windows, they are pricey and only manufactured by the patent company. They provide service and support of the OS and we use it as it is delivered by them. But for the Linux kernel, it is just a core component. Linux kernel is not patented, it is open source and thus anyone is free to modify and build as per their own. That’s why there are so many distros.

Different companies have used this kernel and built their own version of Linux operating system as per they want to grab the market or as per their targeted customers. They tweak the kernel as per their requirements. For example, a distro may only be focused on better user experience or better GUI. Another one can be made to use with servers, other for hacking, some for deep machine learning research or like that. You can even create your own customizable distro as per your own choice and use it. Fascinating, isn’t it!

It’s normal for anyone with proper knowledge to make a new distro, so a lot of people do that. Some distros are backed up by large companies while some distros are fully community driven. All distros have their own specific goal in mind, like being great for new users (like Ubuntu, Mint), great for servers and corporations (RHEL, CentOS) penetration testing (Kali, BlackArch), making it truly yours (Arch) or anything else. Some of them are just an upgradable version of their distros, (for example Xubuntu is Ubuntu where the desktop environment used XFCE4 instead of Gnome). Sometimes they are meant to be a joke like Hannah Montana Linux.

Different people have different ideas and needs. As Linux is free and open source, it’s relatively easy to create your own, perfect distro. Then you can release it openly and let other use it. If other people like it, they will use it. If not, it will be another tiny entry in the history of Linux. If you open source it, others can add some features, remove some features, and by trying new things, they can create their own. Thus, the wheel of distros keeps spinning!