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The Linux kernel is a free and open source, [11]: 4 Unix-like kernel that is used in many computer systems worldwide. The kernel was created by Linus Torvalds in 1991 and was soon adopted as the kernel for the GNU operating system (OS) which was created to be a free replacement for Unix.
The term GNU/Linux is promoted by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and its founder Richard Stallman. Their reasoning is that the operating system is seen as a modified version of the GNU operating system. Linux as a kernel is just a part of an operating system, whereas the whole operating system is basically the GNU system.
The Linux kernel is both monolithic and modular, since it can insert and remove loadable kernel modules at runtime. This central component of a computer system is responsible for executing programs. The kernel takes responsibility for deciding at any time which of the many running programs should be allocated to the processor or processors.
The first release of the Linux kernel, Linux 0.01, included a binary of GNU's Bash shell. [21] In the "Notes for linux release 0.01", Torvalds lists the GNU software that is required to run Linux: [21] Sadly, a kernel by itself gets you nowhere. To get a working system you need a shell, compilers, a library etc.
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 16 February 2025. Family of Unix-like operating systems This article is about the family of operating systems. For the kernel, see Linux kernel. For other uses, see Linux (disambiguation). Operating system Linux Tux the penguin, the mascot of Linux Developer Community contributors, Linus Torvalds Written ...
A kernel is a component of a computer operating system. [1] A comparison of system kernels can provide insight into the design and architectural choices made by the developers of particular operating systems.
Kernel build is the process of compiling and configuring the Linux kernel source code to generate a functional kernel image that can be loaded into memory and executed by the operating system. [1] The kernel serves as the core component of the Linux operating system, providing essential functions such as process management , memory management ...
kernel.org on the World Wide Web is the main distribution point of source code for the Linux kernel, which is the base of the Linux operating system.. The website and related infrastructure, which is operated by the Linux Kernel Organization, [1] host the repositories that make all versions of the kernel's source code available to all users.