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Linux distributions are frequently used in server platforms. [28] [29] Other than the Linux kernel, key components that make up a distribution may include a display server (windowing system), a package manager, a bootloader and a Unix shell. Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free and open-source software collaboration.
Linus Torvalds in 2002. In 1991, while studying computer science at University of Helsinki, Linus Torvalds began a project that later became the Linux kernel.He wrote the program specifically for the hardware he was using and independent of an operating system because he wanted to use the functions of his new PC with an 80386 processor.
This limits Linux's market share: consumers are unaware that an alternative exists, they must make a conscious effort to use a different operating system, and they must either perform the actual installation themselves, or depend on support from a friend, relative, or computer professional.
That hobby was Linux, and today it's much more than a tinkerer's operating system, with availability on all manner of hardware and a seemingly unlimited array of flavors, or "distributions."
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name "GNU/Linux" to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy. [72]
Linux is here, and GNU isn't—and people have been working on Hurd for a lot longer than Linus has been working on Linux". [7] Torvalds, aware of GNU's efforts to create a kernel, stated "If the GNU kernel had been ready last spring, I'd not have bothered to even start my project: the fact is that it wasn't and still isn't."
The common format allows substantial binary compatibility among different Unix systems operating on the same CPU architecture. The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard was created to provide a reference directory layout for Unix-like operating systems; it has mainly been used in Linux.
Gentoo Linux (pronounced / ˈ dʒ ɛ n t uː / JEN-too [3]) is a Linux distribution built using the Portage package management system. Unlike a binary software distribution , the source code is compiled locally according to the user's preferences and is often optimized for the specific type of computer.