Linux

Linux (often pronounced linuks, with a short i as in linen) is a Unix-like operating system that was designed to provide PC users with a free or very low-cost operating system comparable to traditional and usually more expensive Unix systems. Linux has a reputation as a very efficient and fast-performing system. Linux's kernel (the central part of the operating system) was developed by Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinki in Finland and is available under the GNU General Public Licence. To complete the operating system, Torvalds and other team members made use of system components and tools developed by members of the Free Software Foundation for the GNU Project.

Linux is a remarkably complete operating system, including a graphical user interface, an X Window System, TCP/IP, the Emacs editor, and other components usually found in a comprehensive Unix system. Unlike Windows and other proprietary systems, Linux is publicly open and extendible by contributors. Although copyrights are held by various creators of Linux's components, Linux is distributed using the Free Software Foundation's copyleft stipulations that mean any modified version that is redistributed must in turn be freely available.

Because it conforms to the Portable Operating System Interface standard user and programming interfaces, developers can write programs that can be ported to other operating systems. Linux comes in versions for all the major microprocessor platforms including Intel, PowerPC, Sparc, and Alpha platforms.

See also:
[Open Source]  [Operating System]  [Unix]