Linux distributions also come in all shapes and sizes, and most if not all offer the ability to run directly via CD / DVD in what’s known as a ‘Live CD’ environment or even directly via USB if your motherboard supports booting from USB.įor more facts about Linux, read freeCodeCamp founder Quincy Larson's article Linux is 25. However, there are others including Pacman (used for Arch Linux) and PetGet (Puppy Linux).

Package types are split between higher-level distributions, with Debian (.deb) and Red Hat (.rpm) being two of the most commonly used. It has over 700 tools, and to be able to use it efficiently you will need to know how to use the command line. There is also Kali Linux which is used for advanced penetration testing and auditing. This means that users can choose their Linux distributions based on their wants and needs. More importantly, these different versions of Linux (called distributions) allow the user varying degrees of personalization and control of the operating system. There are also many versions of Linux designed to be run on personal computers, such as Debian or Ubuntu. It powers 90% of the world’s servers, and is the basis of Google’s popular Android operating system. Today, Linux is the most popular operating system in the world.

Linux’s hardware supoort and free licensing made Linux a popular choice for desktop and server computing in the mid 90s. Open source contributors added onto the kernel and expanded its hardware compatability. Linux was first started as a clone of the MINIX operating system. The underlying source code may be used, modified and distributed commercially or non-commercially by anyone under the terms of its respective licenses, such as the GNU General Public License. The development of Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free and open-source software collaboration. The Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to refer to the operating system family, as well as specific distributions, to emphasize that most Linux distributions are not just the Linux kernel, and that they have in common not only the kernel, but also numerous utilities and libraries, a large proportion of which are from the GNU project. Many Linux distributions use the word “Linux” in their name. The Linux kernel, an operating system kernel which all Linux distributions use, was first released on Septemby Linux Torvalds. Linux is a name which broadly denotes a family of free and open-source software operating system distributions built around the Linux kernel.

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