What is Linux?

Definition

It was born 25 years ago, it is an operating system kernel that allows us to properly manage application execution whether on a terminal or server.

It also allows us to manage all of the associated hardware, IT and network processes. Linux available in open source under the GNU license, for GNU GPL.

Linux OS distributions

Thanks to its open source model, Linux has made it possible to give birth to hundreds of Linux OSes or distributions, which means full operating systems based. These distributions can be designed to play the role of OS on a PC, a connected object, or a server.

Among the most popular Linux distributions:

• Linux Mint,
• Linux Ubuntu,
• Red Hat, Debian,
• Suse Linux,
• Kali Linux
• Arch Linux.

A little history

• 1991: a 21-year-old student posts this message in a forum: “I am currently making a free operating system. The message is signed by Linus Torvalds, who is looking for feedback and suggestions on his project. He has no idea then that his name will become one of the best known in IT.
• 1992: Linux 0.12
• 1994: Linux 1.0.0
• 2000: association with 3 other open source technologies which are: the PHP language, the MySQL database and
• finally the Apache server.
• Nowadays: The biggest Linux hit of recent years is Android.

The difference

There are hundreds of different ways to install it because it is a very rich operating system. Below what may differ from one distribution to another:

• Installation: can be simplified or complicated;
• Managing the installation of programs. If done right, it can make installing new software easier than under Windows;
• Programs preinstalled on the computer

Main distributions

There are a large number of different Linux distributions. The main ones are:

• Slackware
• Mandriva
• Red Hat
• SuSE
• Debian