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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

This article is about Linux-based operating systems, GNU/Linux, and related topics. See Linux kernel for the kernel itself.

Meanwhile, in 1991, another kernel—eventually dubbed "Linux"—was begun as a hobby by Finnish university student Linus Torvalds while attending the University of Helsinki. Torvalds originally used Minix, a simplified Unix-like system written by Andrew Tanenbaum for teaching operating-system design. However, Tanenbaum did not permit others to extend his operating system, leading Torvalds to write a replacement for Minix. Linux started out as a terminal emulator written in IA-32 assembler and C which was compiled into binary form and booted from a floppy disk so that it would run outside of any operating system. The terminal emulator was running two threads: one for sending and one for receiving characters from the serial port. When Linus needed to write and read files to disk, this task-switching terminal emulator was extended with an entire filesystem handler, and after that gradually evolved into an entire operating-system kernel intended as a foundation for POSIX-compliant systems. The first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) was released to the Internet on September 17th, 1991, with the second version following shortly thereafter in October [2]. Since then, thousands of developers around the world have participated in the project. Eric S. Raymond's essay The Cathedral and the Bazaar discusses the development model of the Linux kernel and similar software.

By the 0.01 release, Linus had implemented enough POSIX system calls to make Linux run the GNU Bash shell and, after this bootstrapping procedure, the development rapidly accelerated. Although a running Minix system was originally necessary in order to configure, compile, install, and run Linux, the Linux system quickly surpassed Minix in functionality and was soon able to boot on its own. Torvalds and other early Linux-kernel developers adapted their kernel to work with the GNU components and user-space programs to create a complete, fully functional, free operating system.

Today, Torvalds continues to direct the development of the kernel, while other subsystems such as the GNU components are developed separately. The task of producing an integrated system, which combines all of these basic components along with graphical interfaces (such as GNOME or KDE, which in turn are based on X Windows) and application software, is now performed by Linux distribution vendors/organizations.

Tux the penguin is the logo and mascot of Linux (although there are other less common representations; see OS-tan), based on an image created by Larry Ewing in 1996. The name "Linux" was coined, not by Torvalds, but by Ari Lemmke, administrator at ftp.funet.fi, who named the FTP directory from which it was first available [3]; the name was later trademarked (see below).

Licensing

The Linux kernel, along with many of the GNU components, is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). The GPL requires that all source code modifications and derived works also be licensed under the GPL, and is sometimes referred to as a "share and share-alike" (or copyleft) license. In 1997, Linus Torvalds stated, "Making Linux GPL'd was definitely the best thing I ever did." [4] Other subsystems use other licenses, although all of them share the property of being free/open-source; for example, several libraries use the LGPL (a more-permissive variant of the GPL), and X Windows uses the permissive (non-copyleft) MIT License.

The Linux trademark (SN: 1916230) is owned by Linus Torvalds, registered for "Computer operating system software to facilitate computer use and operation." The licensing of the trademark is now handled by the Linux Mark Institute. LMI has also sought to enforce the Linux trademark in countries other than the US. In September 2005, Intellectual Property Australia, the trademark regulator in Australia, rejected an application to trademark Linux.

Pronunciation

Linux is commonly pronounced either to rhyme with minix [ˈlɪnəks], or to rhyme with my nicks [ˈlaɪnəks]. The first pronounciation is considered more correct, while the second has become popular for sounding more natural in English. Other variations are also possible, but less frequently heard.

In 1992, Torvalds explained [5] (IPA pronunciations added to quote in braces):

"'li' is pronounced with a short [ee] {IPA /ɪ/} sound: compare prInt, mInImal etc. 'nux' is also short, non-diphthong, like in pUt {IPA /ʊ/}. It's partly due to minix: linux was just my working name for the thing, and as I wrote it to replace minix on my system, the result is what it is... linus' minix became linux."

An audio file of Torvalds saying "Hello, this is Linus Torvalds, and I pronounce Linux as /linəks/" also exists [6]. Note that in English, "Linux" and "Minix" are usually pronounced with a short /I/ sound that is different from Torvalds's Finland-Swedish pronunciation of these words.

See also List of words of disputed pronunciation for a discussion of the various ways "Linux" is pronounced.