Linux is open-source and one of the most popular operating systems. It is one of the most important technological advancements of the last century. It has made a huge impact on the growth of the internet. Like any operating system, it manages the system’s hardware and resources like memory, CPU (Central Processing Unit), and storage.
As Linux is open-source, one can view, edit, and contribute to the project if one has enough technical skills/.
Features of Linux
Linux has many features in comparison to other operating systems. Some basic features are given below.
- Open Software
Since Linux is open source, its code is available freely to the public.
2. Supports Multi-User
Linux has a multiuser feature that provides the ability to let multiple users access the same machine resources at the same time. These resources can be memory, applications, or hard disk at the same time.
3. Supports Multitasking
On Linux, there can be multiple processes or applications running simultaneously.
4. Improved Security
Linux provides improved security features like an authentication mechanism for users to log in using username-password, and authorizations for reading/writing/executing files or directories. It also supports encryption of certain files so that the rightful owner cal see the original content of the files.
5. Administrative Utilities
It provides several utilities and commands for administrative tasks. There can be several administrative tasks like adding/deleting users and creating/updating user groups.
6. Managing Memory
Linux does a great job of managing the memory of the machine on which it is installed. It uses the concept of both virtual and paging memory, through which applications use the memory as needed.
Linux Operating System Components
Linux Operating System(OS) mainly consists of the following components, which are listed below.
- Kernel
- System Library
- System Utility
What is Kernel?
The kernel is the core part of Linux and is responsible for all the main activities of the Linux OS. It has several low-level modules through which it manages hardware resources for users. As it is free and open-source under the General Public Licenses (GPL), anyone can edit it. Different processes that run on Linux communicate with each other using a communication mechanism called Inter-Process Communication. (IPC)
There are mainly three types of Kernel on Linux
- Monolithic Kernel
- Micro Kernel
- Hybrid Kernel
What is a System Library?
The system library consists of most of the functionalities that run in the Linux Operating System. Applications can access the Kernel features using these functions. In most of the Linux distros, we can see these libraries under /lib location.
What is System Utility?
System utilities are different programs and processes that perform specialized tasks at the individual level.
Types of Linux Distributors
There are many Linux distributions in the market right now. Below are the important Linux distributors.
- Ubuntu
- Debian
- Fedora
- Red Hat Enterprise
- Arch Linux
- Linux Mint