Catching the Wave: Linux

Linux: An Operating System for Today
By Gary Cottreau © 1999

Linux is a interesting phenomenon. It is an operating system that started as a project by a Finish student, Linus Torvalds, and has captured the imagination of a sizable portion of the world.
But first a few points to clear up:

What is an operating system?

An operating systems is the system that runs your computer. It is the go-between for the hardware and software. It ‘translates' so that both hardware and software can speak to each other. Some of the other operating systems out there are: DOS, Windows 95, Mac, UNIX.

What does an operating system do?

An operating system manages and communicates. For instance, when you type on your key board or use your mouse, the operating system takes the input you have communicated from the hardware devices and ‘translates' it for the software you are communicating with (i.e. a game, wordprocessor, spreadsheet, etc). Some of the operating systems have build in modules for certain types of hardware– however, since there are so many companies producing hardware, operating systems rely on device drivers to help them in the communication.

Operating systems also manage memory. This is one area where you can see a real difference in memory management. Windows 95 and 98 are bad for memory management and crashes in my opinion (based on personal experiences over several years). The blue screen of death, GPF, freeze ups, etc. Linux is know for its great memory management, it does not crash very often (I can vouch for that from personal experience).

Background of Linux

What makes Linux interesting is not only the quality of the operating system but also the way it was produced. Linus Torvalds released the code (the stuff programmer write) for all to see and help out with. Linux became a world wide group effort for free.

While there was a risk of to many hands spoiling the soup, there was also the possibility of the collective intelligence of thousands of programmers. Over the years, thousands have pitched in to help out. With large numbers of people trying out Linux-- on thousands of types of computers hardware setups (i.e. different video cards, hard drives, sound cards, mouse types, etc ) bugs were found quickly and responded to by hackers willing to contribute to the cause. The Linux operating systems evolved with thousands of hours of beta testing and user feedback from all over the world.

Word of mouth spread the news of Linux all over the globe. Newsgroups sprung up. Commercial distributions like Redhat and Caldera developed. Thousands more tried it out. By 1999 there is an estimated 10,000,000 Linux users.

Linux is Not Alone

In itself, an operating systems is important, but in the backgroud of most end users. What added considerably to Linux's growth was pre-existing software and the GNU public license. There was already a 'free' software movement around. It was this body of work that added to the usefullness of Linux for the average user. This included programs, like email, newsgroup readers, games, editors, window managers, etc. Linux and the free software movement geled at the same time. This created a mommentum and critical mass to catch the imagination of a whole group of programmers.

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