Linux For Dummies. Richard Blum

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Chapter 1

      Getting Acquainted with Linux

      IN THIS CHAPTER

      Welcome to the world of Linux, the operating system developed by thousands of people around the world! In this chapter, you find out about Linux itself — what it is, where it comes from, and why it gets so much attention. Prepare to have your assumptions challenged about how software must be developed and sold, and your mind opened to new possibilities.

Is Free Really Free?

      Understanding Linux requires a radical shift of thought regarding the way that you acquire and use computer software. (Note: By radical, I mean getting to the root of the matter, rather than putting on beads and camping out in the administration building.) Your first step toward shifting your mindset is to alter your general connotation of the word free to represent freedom, rather than free lunch. That’s right; you can sell “free” software for a fee … and you’re encouraged to do so, as long as you relay the same freedom to each recipient of the software.

Don’t scratch your head too hard; these concepts are tough to grasp initially, especially when you consider the conditioning you’ve received from the commercial software industry's marketing departments. Perhaps you don’t know that when you purchase most proprietary software packages, you don’t actually own the software. Rather, you’re granted permission to use the software within the bounds dictated by the licensor.

      Linux also has a license. However, the motives and purpose of the license are much different from those of most commercial software. Instead of using a license to restrict use of the software, the GNU General Public License (GPL) that Linux uses ensures that the software will always be open to anyone. No company can ever own Linux or dictate the way in which you use or modify Linux — although they can have their own individual copyrights and trademarks on their various brands of it, such as Red Hat and SUSE. In essence, you already own Linux, and you can use it for anything you like, as long as you propagate the GPL freedoms to any further recipients of the software.

Linux: Revolution or Just Another Operating System?

      Before going any farther into Linux, I need to get some terminology out of the way.

      Tux is the formal name of the mascot penguin that represents Linux. Rumor has it that Linux’s creator, Linus Torvalds, is rather fond of these well-dressed inhabitants of the Antarctic.

      An operating system is the software that runs your computer, handling all interactions between you and the hardware. Whether you’re writing a letter, calculating a budget, or managing your recipes on your computer, the operating system provides the essential air that your computer breathes. Furthermore, an operating system isn’t just one program; it consists of hundreds of smaller programs and utilities that allow us humans to use a computer to do something useful. You then run other programs (such as your word processor) on top of the operating system to get everything done.

      In recent technological history, Linux has evolved from a techie playground to a rock-solid solution for the business enterprise. The same software that was once dismissed as rogue is now being adopted and promoted by industry leaders such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Microsoft, and Intel. Each of these computer manufacturers has determined that Linux provides value for their customers in some way (as well as for their own operations).

Linux has been accused of being “just another operating system.” On the surface, it may appear so, but if you look deeper, you can see that this isn’t so. The Linux project is a flagship leading the current trend toward open source and free (as in freedom, not free lunch) software within the computing industry. A rock-solid operating system because of the model under which it was (and continues to be) developed, Linux represents much that is good in software development.

      Two fundamental distinctions separate Linux from the rest of the operating-system pack: