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What Is Linux

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53 views

What Is Linux

Uploaded by

ALAN
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Topics  Understanding Linux  What is Linux?

What is Linux?
Updated May 11, 2022 •2-minute read

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Overview
Linux® is an open source operating system (OS). An operating system is the software
that directly manages a system’s hardware and resources, like CPU, memory, and
storage.. The OS sits between applications and hardware and makes the connections
storage
between all of your software and the physical resources that do the work.

Learn the basics of Linux

How does Linux work?


Think about an OS like a car engine. An engine can run on its own, but it becomes a
functional car when it’s connected with a transmission, axles, and wheels. Without the
engine running properly, the rest of the car won’t work.

Linux was designed to be similar to UNIX, but has evolved to run on a wide variety of
hardware from phones to supercomputers. Every Linux-based OS involves the Linux
kernel—which manages hardware resources—and a set of software packages that make
up the rest of the operating system.

The OS includes some common core components, like the GNU tools, among
others. These tools give the user a way to manage the resources provided by the kernel,
install additional software, configure performance and security settings, and more. All of
these tools bundled together make up the functional operating system. Because Linux is
an open source OS, combinations of software can vary between Linux distributions.
Learn what you can do on our latest Linux release

What's a command line?


The command line is your direct access to a computer. It's where you ask software to
perform hardware actions that point-and-click graphical user interfaces (GUIs) simply
can't ask. 

Command lines are available on many operating systems—proprietary or open source.


But it’s usually associated with Linux, because both command lines and open source
software, together, give users unrestricted access to their computer.

Our latest release of Red Hat® Enterprise Linux comes with even more built-in command
line capabilities than ever before and includes consoles that bundle those capabilities in
easy-to-use modules that exist off of the command line.

Review the features of the latest release

What does Linux include?

Kernel System user space

The base component of the OS. The administrative layer for system-
Without it, the OS doesn’t work. The level tasks like configuration and
kernel manages the system’s resources software install. This includes the shell,
and communicates with the hardware. or command line, daemons, processes

Applications

A type of software that lets you


perform a task. Apps include
everything from desktop tools and
programming languages to multiuser
business suites. Most Linux
distributions offer a central database
to search for and download additional
apps.

Linux and open source


Linux is a free, open source operating system, released under the GNU General Public
License (GPL). Anyone can run, study, modify, and redistribute the source code, or even
sell copies of their modified code, as long as they do so under the same license.

Linux has become the largest open sources software project in the world. Professional
and hobbyist programmers and developers from around the world contribute to the
Linux kernel, adding features, finding and fixing bugs and security flaws, and providing
new ideas—all while sharing their contributions back to the community.

Learn more about open source

Why choose Red Hat?


Linux is the foundation for the modern IT stack, and Red Hat is one of the leading
contributors to the Linux kernel and associated technologies in open source
communities. Red Hat engineers help improve features, reliability, and security to make
sure your infrastructure performs and remains stable—no matter your use case and
workload.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides a standard operating environment for everything your
enterprise does in every environment—powering the apps that run your business across
bare-metal, virtual, containerized, and private and public clouds. Plus, customers running
Red Hat Enterprise Linux gain economic advantages of more than US$1 trillion each year,
just because of the OS.
Consider Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Keep reading

ARTICLE

What is Linux?
Linux is an open source operating system that is made up of the kernel, the base
component of the OS, and the tools, apps, and services bundled along with it.

Read more

ARTICLE

What is SELinux?
Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) is a security architecture for Linux® systems
that allows administrators to have more control over who can access the system.

Read more
ARTICLE

What is the Linux kernel?


The Linux kernel is the main component of a Linux operating system (OS) and is
the core interface between a computer’s hardware and its processes.

Read more

More about Linux

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Happy 30th anniversary, Linux® kernel and GPLv2


The tech industry as we know it wouldn't exist without the Linux kernel and GPLv2. Learn
more about how they shaped the world.

Read the blog post

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