Linux

History

Around the birth of Linux

In 1991, the PC compatibles dominate the market of the Personal computers and generally function under the Operating systems MS-DOS, Windows or OS/2. The Microprocessor Intel 80386, sold since 1986, starts to be accessible. In 1991, none of these three systems exploits the capacities 32 Bit S of the 80386.

The project GNU is known to have produced many Free software, of which Commandes Unix, the text editor Emacs and the Compilateur C GCC. This software is generally used on Work stations functioning under Unix, because the Noyau of operating system Hurd is only with the state of project.

In June 1991, the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) leaves Networking Release 2 (Net/2), which constitutes a system almost complete Unix BSD. But a lawsuit launched by Unix System Laboratories against Berkeley Software Design makes weigh doubts about the statute of this distribution during almost two years.

The operating system Minix is developed by the professor Andrew Tanenbaum for teaching. It is inspired by Unix, free, its sources are available but nonfree, and simplicity is privileged compared to the performances.

1991: birth of the Linux core

In 1991, the Finnish student Linus Torvalds, which upset the low availability of the Unix waiter of its university with Helsinki, undertakes to write a Noyau of operating system which one will call later “Noyau Linux”.

Linus Torvalds then makes its training on the Operating system Minix. As the author of Minix refuses the contributions aiming at improving Minix, Linus gains the motivation necessary to write a substitute of it. It starts by developing a simple final emulator of , that it uses to connect via Modem to the data-processing Serveur of its university. Linus then wishes especially to include/understand the operation of its computer, a PC compatible based on a Microprocesseur Intel 80386. After the addition of various functionalities whose one Filesystem compatible with that of Minix, Linus directs its project towards something of more ambitious: a core to the standards POSIX.

October 5th, 1991, he announces on the forum Usenet news:comp.os.minix the availability of an outline version 0.02 of his operating system, version 0.01 having had a diffusion more than confidential. the message in question as its translation are available on wikisource.

Since, hundreds of impassioned and companies, small or giant, came to take part in the project whose Linus Torvalds is always the coordinator. Eric S. Raymond describes in a test resounding the development model of the Linux core and part of the free software.

Initially called Freax by its creator, the project finds his name final thanks to Ari Lemmke, administrator of the waiter ftp ftp.funet.fi , which lodges the work of Linus Torvalds in a repertory named Linux . It is the first appearance of a made up term starting from Linus and Unix , which will become thereafter a registered trademark in the name of Linus Torvalds. The penguin Tux, drawn by Larry Ewing in 1996, becomes the symbol of the project.

Diffusion of GNU/Linux

Among the outstanding stages, one can initially quote launching in October 1996 by Matthias Ettrich of the graphic Environnement KDE then in August 1997 by Miguel de Icaza of his competitor GNOME, both being based on the system of fenestration X11 resulting from work of the Massachusetts Institute off Technology. In the iceberg which is a Operating system general public based on the Noyau Linux, the environments of office, like GNOME, KDE or XFCE form the emerged part of it, in direct contact with the user.

There is also the progressive taking into account of the commercial interest of Linux which one can quote some spectacular demonstrations: launching in February 1998 of the Open Source Initiative; advertisement in July 1998 of the support of Oracle Corporation which carries and supports its famous Database under Linux; the stockmarket entry of Red Hat on November 11th, 1999; that of GOES Linux the next month which marks the top of impressive a Speculative bubble; the massive support brought by the giant IBM who there spends of the billion dollars, employs In 2005 nearly 300 developers of the Noyau Linux, and organizes starting from 2003 the legal response at the time of the attack of the SCO Group which affirmed to have the royalties of the Noyau Linux ( to see the article SCO against Linux ); acquisition in October and November 2003 of Ximian then of SuSE by the American giant Novell.

GNU/Linux is used today in many fields, embarked Systèmes with the Superordinateur S while passing by the waiters with in particular the very popular LAMP. Its market share on the stations customers is weak, the various estimates lying in general between 0,3 % and more 3 % according to the methods of statement and calculation. This figure is actually not easily estimable, because on the one hand, of many navigators Web modify their identity by defect (or at the request of the user) in order not to be constrained by the Web sites blocking the navigators other than “Internet Explorer turning on Microsoft Windows”, and on the other hand, it is frequent that a Linux user configures his system so that it does not communicate this information, because they could make it possible to facilitate the search for possible faults by a pirate.

Principles and ideology

Free software

Interworking

Linux could not have developed without the presence of standardized protocols used on Internet. A good number of free software are implementations of reference besides, like Apache.

The partisans of the free software are thus constant partisans of the Interopérabilité. They propose the open formats, of the formats of data whose technical specifications are public and without access control nor of implementation, in order not to depend on only one software.

Accordingly let us quote Mozilla Firefox which tries to respect scrupuleusement recommendations put forth by the World Wide Web Consortium, Jabber which gave rise to the standard XMPP recognized by the Internet Engineering Task Force in the field of the Instant messaging or the continuations OpenOffice.org and KOffice which launched the recent standard OpenDocument in the field of office automation.

In other fields, there does not exist organization or of agreement of standardization recognized. The market is then parcelled out between various salesmen who have each one their technology or under the domination of a prevalent economic actor who closes his formats or protocol S.

The first case of figure prevails in the war of the instant messagings and is regulated by multiprotocol software like Pidgin or Kopete. The formats of the continuations successive Microsoft Office and the protocol Common Internet Spins System which makes it possible to divide files and printers between various computers of a network Microsoft Windows fall into the second category. These formats and protocols often or are not badly documented. The Interopérabilité passes then necessarily by the Retro-engineering.

That can require a titanic work, in addition illegal in the United States but legal in Europe (as long as one remains within the framework of interworking); today, OpenOffice.org makes it possible to read the very great majority of the files to the various formats .doc , and the software Samba makes it possible to take part in the Windows networks.

More problematic from the point of view of the Free software are the formats and protocols necessary to interworking, but locked technically and/or legally: Management of the digital rights, software patents, Directive EUCD, Digital Millennium Copyright Act…

Unifix Linux 2.0 of the German company Unifix (and Linux-FT de Lasermoon) are also certified POSIX .1 FIPS 151-2 (Federal Information Processing Standard). Core 1.2.13

On the site Debian, they explain the standards of POSIX are not free and certification POSIX.1 (and FIPS 151-2) is very expensive

The Communities

Many associations, known under the name of Linux Users Group, User group Linux (LUG or GUL), seek to promote Linux and by extension, the free software, by the means of meetings where demonstrations of Linux are made, of the formations, and for those which wish it installations on their computer.

Many communities exist on Internet in order to help the beginners like the professionals. Let us quote the Lea-linux site, the collaboratif site of information Linuxfr.org and the Linux-Quebec site, which helps the Québécois users like French in their training of the bases of Linux thanks to a network very active IRC. And the projects Proselux and Parrains.Linux allow the linuxien () S to meet to help.

Distributions

Contracts OEM and Windows remission of tax

Market share

According to the specialized company in market research IDC, 24% of the waiters and 3% of the GCV were sold with Linux in 2004. IDC provides that the total market of the Linux computers will be of 35,7 billion dollars in 2008. These sales figures do not enter obviously the companies and the private individuals who choose to install to them-even Linux after the purchase of a material provided without Linux.

A study of XiTi realized in August 2007 on: 19000 Web sites professionals gives 95,47% of Market share to Windows (87,8% with Windows XP and 6,48% with Windows Vista), 3.2 with Mac OS X and 0,8% with GNU/Linux. The method used consists in making statements on the visits of a big number of Web sites. In the fields identifying the navigator, information on the name of the navigator, his version is generally present, like its SE. This does not want to say that 0,8% of the computers of the world are equipped with GNU/Linux, but that 0,8% of the Web pages seen were it, undoubtedly, by computers whose operating system is a version of GNU/Linux. This approach, in addition to this skew, presents another problem: it is completely easy to modify the presentation of its navigator, i.e. to modify the parameters identifying the navigator. For a long time, before the noticed takeoff of the Firefox navigator, it was wise to do that to circumvent certain filters on certain sites aiming at pushing back the navigators not MS Internet Explorer. This practice does not seem any more topicality in 2007 thanks to the opening of Firefox, with the awakening of the editors of Web sites and with their efforts for more interworking.

There exist other approaches and other sources. The Canadian ATI, largely minority map production graphs on the Linux market because of the lack of support 3D of his charts on this operating system, estimates that Linux accounts for 3% of its sales.

The tabulated statistics of W3schools give 2,2% of market shares for linux in March 2002 and 3,5% of market shares in February 2007, after a peak with 3,6% at the end of 2006, at the beginning of 2007.

It is important to specify if it is about the Market share of the stations customer or waiter.

Interfaces

The line of order

From filiation with UNIX, the line of order is always available in Linux.

Certain distributions, in particular those specialized in the waiters or certain tasks of administration, use only the line of order, in particular for its low fuel consumption of resource, which had with the absence of Graphical interface.

For a long time, of many operations of configuration required its use, which is not true any more with the recent distributions dedicated to the family use.

On line helps however often mention the step to be followed in line of order, even when a graphic configuration is possible: this method is more universal in the Linux world, and often easier to explain for the person who helps, and its interlocutor has only with Copy-to stick the indication.

A well conceived graphical interface nowadays makes it possible to achieve the large majority of the tasks much more agreeably, but it is not always the case, particularly when the task has a repetitive aspect.

The line of order, which draws its power from its possibility ad infinitum of combining automatic sub-tasks, and which almost naturally makes it possible to automate the task thus accomplished, can then appear more effective than the graphical interface.

Scientists, engineers and developers count among its more frequent users.

Graphical interface and line of order can be also supplemented one and the other: KDE is delivered with a very ergonomic terminal, and offers an effective mechanism ( dcop ) to control and thus automate all its graphic applications since the line of order.

Managers X window

The use of the generic term Linux is misleading being the use of a personal computer. There exist actually three distinct interfaces, with the quite different characteristics and forming each one an autonomous whole: traditional approach centered around an Administrative of windows on the one hand, the environment KDE and the environment GNOME on the other hand.

Traditionally the interface of an operating system based on the Noyau Linux is a sober interface even Spartan, centered around a Gestionnaire of windows (there are the numerous ones like Window Maker or IceWM) and of a rather heteroclite succession of applications.

The window Xterm allowing a use on line of order is in general never far, the data processing specialist by appreciating his powerful use potential which comes from the filiation of Linux with Unix.

The disadvantage of such a system is the time necessary to personalize such an environment, and especially the not-standardization of the applications thus used. The applications which one can see on the screen printing of right-hand side (XMMS, RealPlayer, Mozilla Firefox, Xterm, Gaim, Konqueror) follow each one their own conventions: aspect, behaviors, shortened different keyboards; the Copy-to stick and slip-deposit are random…

So individually of the applications like Vim or Emacs can have indeed brilliant aspects, the disparate whole of all these applications in fact a system difficult to apprehend. Time devoted to learn an application and the reflexes thus acquired cannot be applied to the other applications, an enormous advantage which brings the standardization of behavior of the interfaces like had shown it the Macintosh. As example, the short cut keyboard used to leave an application can be: Ctrl+Q, Q, Esc, Ctrl-C+Ctrl-X, Ctrl-C: qa! , bye, quit, exit…

The use of such an environment regresses clearly these last years with the maturity of the alternatives presented below. It perdure nevertheless in users who were done with such a system, or which appreciate it because he makes it possible them to use recent Linux even on old computers.

Environments of office

Offer in software

The quality of an operating system is measured mainly for the user with the applications which it can use. The Linux community produced a great number of software usable in many fields (the examples of software are given only as an indication): office automation with OpenOffice.org, Internet with Mozilla Firefox, Konqueror, IceWeasel, Gnuzilla, Mozilla Thunderbird, Gaim or BitTorrent, the multi-media one with Xine, MPlayer, VLC media player, XMMS or Amarok, graphics, with The GIMP, Inkscape or Scribus or 3D with Blender.

Certain software important owners also has a Linux version. It is the case of Opera, Macromedia Flash Player, Acrobat Reader, NeroLinux or Skype for example.

The concept of portability indicates the capacity of a program to being used under various architecture or operating systems.

Finally let us note that it is possible to use software made for Microsoft Windows on a Linux station thanks to an implementation of the API Windows under Linux like WINE. Commercial offers based on WINE as CrossOver Office make it possible to almost use without problems of the software such Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop resulting from the Windows world.

Video games

Although there exist many free plays available under Linux (see in particular Liste of plays under GNU/Linux), the offer does not have anything to see in term of quality and quantity with that of the commercial plays, which in the very large majority of the cases, are compatible only with Windows, and sometimes Mac OS.

However there exists several implementation S of the API Windows under Linux, especially for the plays, thus making it possible to make function many plays conceived for Windows, in the environments Cedega and WINE. Another recourse of the linuxiens quite simply consists in parallel using Windows on the same computer thanks to the Multiboot.

Shell programs

The most known programs in text mode accessible since the line from order include/understand Vim, Emacs, sed, apt… A certain part of them can be also used via an graphical interface.

In addition, the programs functioning in console mode are comparatively numerous. The reasons are multiple:

Historical (in the beginning, GNU/Linux functioned only in mode comforts).
Effectiveness (the programs functioning in console require much less resources).
Speed (to open a console to type an order there is often much less long than to pass by the various menus of a Gestionnaire of windows, or of a graphic Environnement)
Meilleur control.
etc

The use of these programs can prove to be difficult for a person not being accustomed to work in text mode, of the people coming from Windows for example. On another side, they are relatively snuffed by the advanced users of the systems of the type Unix.

August 1st

Free libraries

The software which uses a free library can function on Linux and all the platforms where the library is established. These libraries can add a graphic surcouche on already existing text applications as it is the case of Vim, but they are especially used to develop software accessible to the not-data processing specialists and laying out of the functionalities authorized by the graphical interfaces, like slip-depositing it, handling with the mouse, etc

Other applications like Blender or Google Earth are a case with share because they use the library OpenGL intended for the base with the implementation like with the management of programs using the 3D (but also the 2D).

Emulation

August 1st

Several software of emulation exists making it possible to simulate the operation of or competitor environment operating systems of play.

Written applications developed for Windows can turn under a Linux system by the applications Wine and its commercial derivative Cedega which emulates the operation of principal the API of Microsoft Windows.

Same manner, Steem and ARAnyM emulate a good part of the éécrites applications for the machines Atari, in particular the Atari ST and Atari TT.

Moreover, Linux also opens the possibility of obtaining a perfect separation between several virtual environments turning on only one physical computer. These environments of Virtualisation make it possible at low prices to optimize the output of the computers Multiprocesseur S which invaded the market in 2006. Xen, VMware, Virtualbox and even Qemu is examples of these technologies.

Assumption of responsibility of the material

The assumption of responsibility of the material equipment one of criticisms principal is made in Linux. Indeed, all the materials for microcomputers all are not taken charges some directly by Linux and the pilot compatible with Linux are not always available. Certain manufacturers provide systematically pilots for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, whereas under Linux, the community is often obliged to develop them itself. Accordingly, the pilots necessary to make function a computer fully are integrated into the majority of the Linux distributions. In fact the peripherals of second level are likely in certain circumstances not to have pilots available, in particular certain printers, modems, webcams, etc

The first reason of this situation is the weak impact of Linux at the private individuals, which does not encourage the manufacturers to invest in the development of pilots for this environment. The second reason is the refusal of certain distributions (Fedora, for example) to take on board pilots under licenses owners, even when those exist, which obliges the user to find them and to install them manually. Lastly, the absence of API fixed in the Linux core obliges the manufacturers to remake or adapt the pilots to each version of the core.

The users who work on several platforms and which need these pilots can find versions developed by third parties, but of such pilots support generally only one rudimentary whole of functions, and appear only after the exit of the material, with a certain latency time. There exist however mechanisms to make function some pilot developed for other operating systems (like NdisWrapper).

The Webcam S are, for example, particularly concerned by this absence of pilots, but the protocol USB Video Class or UVC makes it possible to answer this problem with many webcam supporting this protocol. Today more and more of large manufacturers make efforts to develop or provide information for the development of free pilots for Linux, like Créative Labs for its webcams or charts sounds, Intel (processors, chipset 3D, networks, etc…) or of the assemblers (Étasunien Dell and the Asus Taiwanese sell for example computers with préinstallé Linux) but many other components require to check the availability of pilots before the purchase, if they are intended for a use under Linux.

Use

Waiter

Safety network

Linux, which enjoys a good reputation safety performance (passage on the scale) is very much used in the field of the data-processing networks, for example like footbridge, Router or Fire wall.

host Computer

The availability of the source code, and the possibility which results from this to adapt the system to a precise task, made it possible Linux to make its entry in the computer centres. On this market of the host computers, large ultra-reliable computers optimized for the massive treatment of data, omnipresent in the banks, the insurance companies and the large companies, Linux competes with more and more the systems Unix owners which were formerly the standard.

Bunches of waiters

Linux was very early used in the field of the bunches of waiters (in English: clusters ), for example by the search engine Google as of the middle of the years 1990. In this configuration, associated with the concept of Grid of calculation, simple computers turning under a specialized distribution of Linux work independently within a great computer network.

Supercomputers

The Superordinateur S are conceived to reach more possible high efficiencies with known technologies, in particular in term computing speed. In November 2006, according to TOP500 Linux makes turn 74% of the five hundred more powerful computers of the world (against 20% for UNIX) including most powerful, the two waiters Blue Gene of IBM (: 40960 and: 131072 processors). In June 2007, it is nearly 78% of the supercomputers which use Linux, against 12% for Unix and, the last, 0,40% for Windows.

Embarked

Linux is also in the middle of many data-processing apparatuses or consumer electronics, and sometimes without the user knowing it. They are in particular equipment network and numerical small apparatuses intended for the consumption of mass, equipped in general with a processor specialized energy saver and a Mémoire flash.

The success of Linux in this field holds, here like elsewhere, so that the manufacturers appreciate of being able on the one hand to adapt the software to their needs (additional consumption, interface, functions, etc), on the other hand to profit from the experiment and the work of an active community. Linux is also appreciated in this field for its reliability, its resistance to the attacks of the hackers on the networks and of course its exemption from payment.

Specialized forums of co-operation help the manufacturers of these products while putting at disposal instructions, programs and examples of codes, and while endeavouring to standardize the application program interfaces of Linux in embarked. OSDL launched on October 17th, 2005 the Mobile Linux Initiative to accelerate the progression of Linux in this field.

; Networks and communication

Linux makes turn several Routeur S of which certain models of Linksys, like various terminals provided by Fournisseurs of access Internet (like the Freebox in France).

; Telephones and personal assistants

Linux also finds themselves on a range of cellphones of Motorola, on the Personal assistant Sharp Zaurus and shelves Internet Nokia 770 and Nokia N800. In the field of the personal assistants of navigation, the systems autonomous GPS of TomTom are conceived starting from a Linux platform.

; Multi-media

Linux is used in readers of living room DivX, on wandering audio like those of SanDisk and on the walkmans multimedia of Archos.

Linux and safety

The reasons for which Linux is famous to have good a Computer security are varied and also depend on the field of application.

Thus, on the work station, Linux profits from strict a Séparation of the privileges, which in practice is often not used with rival systems. One of the consequences is that a worm or Computer virus can reach only part of the resources and functionalities of a Linux system, but neither with the important data of the system, nor with the data of possible other users.

By comparison with other systems large-public, Linux, and before him Unix, was propagated initially among people having a solid technical knowledge and sensitive to the security issues data processing. The development of Linux, consequently, proceeded in a context where safety was a critical question, as testifies some the number of software of quality in this field which is free and originating in the world Linux/Unix.

In the field of the waiters, the degree of safety depends, by comparison, above all the degree of experiment that to the System administrator. There, Linux marks points thanks to its freedom of use, which allows without risk and overcost to test abundantly various scenarios on other computers, and to acquire a useful experiment thus there.

There exists a series of distributions specifically centered on safety, and of the initiatives such as SELinux of the National Security Agency to reach levels of protection increasingly higher. But also, a series of distribution centered on anti-safety, like Vulnerable Damn Linux, to sensitize the experts and the candidates, with the problems of safety on this operating system.

Another advanced argument is the variety of the supported material platforms, as well as the software solutions. The security breach concerning most popular Client email will touch only one fraction of the linuxiens; by contrast, a fault concerning Outlook Express can touch of a blow an enormous proportion of the users of Windows. This thesis is developed in a report/ratio written by celebrities of the field like Bruce Schneier on behalf of CCIA and is taken again by the company Gartner in a document. A part is translatable as follows:

Lastly, the fact that Linux and revolving number of software under Linux are free software allows that its Source code is studied of an eye criticizes by whoever wishing to do it, that is to carry out adaptations, within an educational framework, to answer the private interests of a company/institution or by simple personal interest. In relation to that, one often hears the argument that the security breaches are corrected more quickly, assertion approved and refuted by various studies, according generally to their funding source. Lastly, the freedom of the software makes useless the recourse to the Hacking, the aces or other sites very popular Warez among the followers of the other operating systems, and which constitute a vector of infection of the computers.

Remain that Linux is not completely insensitive with the security issues, like showed it the worm Slapper in September 2002, first of the kind to touching a notable number of computers under Linux, above all the revolving Web servers under Apache (6000 with the apogee of the worm).

Numerical management of the rights

The numerical Gestion of the rights (DRM) relates to the field of multi-media, and in particular the music and the vidéos which can be bought on Internet. Certain works are protected by numerical bolts, aiming at controlling the use of work, for example by limiting the number of listenings or possible copies. These DRM require the use of a particular technology, which is the exclusive property of the manufacturer and salesman of the aforesaid DRM, which explains why the reading of a protected work is related to the use of a special program. The two larger manufacturers of management systems of the digital rights, Microsoft and Apple, condition the use of protected works by their systems with the respective use of Windows Media Player, and ITunes. These companies selling their own operating system, they do not wish to propose version of their programs for Linux. Thus, it is often not possible for the users of Linux to buy on line music on a paying download location, or to listen to already bought and downloaded music.

There exist also DRM on audio CD, but those are much standardized and less currents. The majority are conceived to function with the operating systems of Microsoft and are thus likely to be completely ineffective for a user of Linux.

It is not a question of technical limitations, since free management systems exist. See also Linus Torvalds, according to which Linux and the management of the rights is not incompatible.

Criticisms

Brad Spengler developer at Grsecurity shows Linux sometimes to center its efforts on the functionalities with the detriment of safety. He claims that Linus Torvalds would have said to him not to be interested by the addition of useful options of safety to avoid overflows of plug, because that would slow down the loading of the applications.

It reproaches the absence of a person officially in charge of the safety, with which it would be possible to communicate into private in full safety. In the place the only solution is to send email on a Mailing list relating to the questions of security where the faults discovered are sometimes used at malicious ends before an update of safety is not diffused, whereas the users of Linux are not with the current of the existence of this fault Of other developers of the core reproach this system for consuming considerable resources and for allowing the diversion of license LPG of the core while adding to it of the components owners.

References

See too

the Core Linux, the Core of operating system
the mascot Tux
Operating system
Distribution Linux
List of popular software under Linux
User group Linux
GNU and Linux
public License general GNU (LPG)
Free software

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