What’s Linux?
Linux is a popular, open-source computer software environment that competes with Microsoft Windows and the Apple Macintosh. It has four major parts:
- The kernel
The low-level operating system, handling files, disks, networking, and other necessities we take for granted.
- Supplied programs
Thousands of programs for file manipulation, text editing, mathematics, typesetting, audio, video, computer programming, web site creation, encryption, CD burning… you name it.
- The shell
A user interface for typing commands, executing them, and displaying the results. There are various shells in existence: the Bourne shell, Korn shell, C shell, and others. This book focuses on
bash, the Bourne Again Shell, which is often the default for user accounts. However, all these shells have similar basic functions.- X
A graphical system that provides windows, menus, icons, mouse support, and other familiar GUI elements. More complex graphical environments are built on X; the most popular are KDE and GNOME. Throughout this book, we discuss programs that open their own X windows to run.