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New To Linux
Linux itself is actually just the kernel;
it implements multitasking and multiuser functionality, manages hardware,
allocates memory, and enables applications to run. The average user will never be interested enough in any operating system to
want to know about things like kernel internals.
Because it is free software, licensed under the GNU General Public License,
Linux obviates the need for programmers to keep reinventing the operations
layer with each new project. To wax metaphorical, the GNU family of tools
provide royalty-free bricks and mortar with which to begin building
independent projects. Critics of free software often voice fears that the
freedoms and low cost of free software will lead to economic disaster for
the computing sector. However, it is just as likely -- if not more likely
-- that free software will do for the world of computing what Gutenberg's
printing press did for the world of Letters.
- TheGNU General Public
License
explains what freedoms and responsibilities are mandated to users of
free software.
- You can read more about the "philosophy" of free software -- and find
a great deal of documentation and software packages available for
download -- at theFree Software Foundation (FSF) Web
site.
- TheIBM
Public License (IPL)
is also a free software license. It was created with the help of FSF
founder Richard Stallman.
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What you want out of your Linux system will determine which Linux system
you want and how many layers of complexity you need to understand before
you begin to work with it.
Linux is an excellent platform on which to learn Linux programming,
kernel hacking, or even UNIX programming; many tools and applications are available
to play games, to do desktop publishing, or just to hang out doing e-mail
and Web browsing.
It is also an excellent platform for working systems, both open and closed,
because it is so heavily customizable for free. Linux is a popular
platform for everything from middleware to embedded computing and
clusters, to parallel supercomputers and gadgets. IBM has been involved in
projects to manufacture cash registers that run on Linux, as well as the
Linux wristwatch. Other developers have used Linux on such devices as cell
phones, Sony PlayStation, TiVo, and the Sharp Zaurus.
you are completely new to Linux, or if you are using Linux as a desktop
operating system, you need to learn at least some basics about system
administration and security. Unlike commercial personal operating systems
that attempt to automate such operations, Linux does not promise to hold
your hand or to clean up after you: you have to take care of the system
yourself. Luckily, basic maintenance and basic security are pretty easy.
In many ways, Linux and UNIX administration is today much easier than
administration for popular commercial personal operating systems because
it is much more transparent.
While Linux does have several windowing environments that allow you to
perform administration, the most straightforward way to control the system
is at the command line. Built in to the structure of the command-line
environment are dozens of commands and several text-based help systems.
There are a great many resources on the Web and in the real world to help
you get started with Linux. There are Web sites, articles, and books
devoted to the subject, and Linux User Groups (also known as LUGs) meet in
cities and countries around the world -- and are well-known for being very
friendly even to very new users. |
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