Linux in a Nutshell, Fifth Edition

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This is the Title of the Book, eMatter Edition

Copyright © 2006 O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

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Introduction

It is hard to chart the rise of Linux without risking the appearance of exaggera-

tion and hyperbole. During the past few years alone, Linux has grown from a

student/hacker playground to an upstart challenger in the server market to a well-

respected system taking its rightful place in educational and corporate networks.

Many serious analysts claim that its trajectory has just begun, and that it will

eventually become the world’s most widespread operating system.

Linux was first developed by Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinki in

Finland. From his current location in Silicon Valley, Linus continues to centrally

coordinate improvements. The Linux kernel continues to develop under the dedi-

cated cultivation of a host of other programmers and hackers all over the world,

joined by members of programming teams at major computer companies, all

connected through the Internet.

By “kernel,” we mean the core of the operating system itself, not the applications

(such as the compiler, shells, and so forth) that run on it. Today, the term “Linux”

is often used to mean a software environment with a Linux kernel, along with a

large set of applications and other software components. In this larger meaning,

many people prefer the term GNU/Linux, which acknowledges the ...