Linux History

Lesson 01 : Linux History

In this lesson , we will learn about Linux history and open source software.In 1991 in Helsinki University, Finland Linux was born by Linus Torvalds where he began developing a UNIX-like kernel.He first announced his work in a now-famous e-mail message on the comp.os.minix mailing list :

From: torvalds@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Linus Benedict Torvalds)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: What would you like to see most in minix?
Summary: small poll for my new operating system
Message-ID:1991AUG25.205708.9541@klaava.Helsinki.FI
Date: 25 Aug 91 20:57:08 GMT
Organization: University of Helsinki

Hello everybody out there using minix -

I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and
professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing
since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on
things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat
(same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons)
among other things).

I've currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and things seem to work.
This implies that I'll get something practical within a few months, and
I'd like to know what features most people would want. Any suggestions
are welcome, but I won't promise I'll implement them :-)

Linus (torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi)

PS. Yes - it's free of any minix code, and it has a multi-threaded fs.
It is NOT protable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably never
will support anything other than AT-harddisks, as that's all I have :-(.

Kernel is the core of the Linux operating system and it is layer between the software and the hardware that manages and controls resources such as processor and memory.

Despite of the humbleness of the email, Torvald’s kernel was to become a professional kernel held in the highest regard in the computing world. Today, Torvald’s kernel, along with tools from the GNU project and elements from other open source projects (X from Xorg, for example), make up the core of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and other Linux distributions, such as the Fedora Project.

Open source software:

Software whose source code is freely available to all is known as open source software ( OSS ). The purpose of OSS is to encourage collaborative work, often through broad participation in software projects across business and geographical boundaries.

Two main groups that promote the benefits of OSS define it in different ways. The Open Source Initiative (OSI) defines OSS as having the following features:

• The software and source code must be freely distributable

• All users must be able to modify the source code and create derived works

• To maintain the integrity of the original author’s work, the license may require that modifications to the code be provided in patch form

• The license has to be inherited, so that those who receive a distribution are subject to the identical terms

• The license must be nondiscriminatory with respect to persons, groups, or fields of endeavor; it must be free of restrictions that can limit the license. For example, it may not require that the software be a part of a particular distribution; it must not restrict other non-OSS software and it may not require the use of technology to apply the license.

See http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php for specific terms.
An alternative definition of open source software comes from the free software movement, which emphasizes the ethical aspects of software and source code availability. As presented by the GNU Project and the Free Software Foundation at http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html, software is free if it satisfies four freedoms:

• The software must be freely executable for any purpose
• The source code must be available so that others can study how it works
• The software must be freely redistributable
• All users must be free to modify the software

Still other licenses, such as the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) license, enforce other interpretations of open source. For example, the BSD license does not enforce inheritance, meaning that BSD-licensed software may be incorporated into closed-source projects.