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linux |
2 definitions found From Jargon File (4.2.3, 23 NOV 2000) [jargon]: Linux /lee'nuhks/ or /li'nuks/, _not_ /li:'nuhks/ n. The free Unix workalike created by Linus Torvalds and friends starting about 1991. The pronunciation /lee'nuhks/ is preferred because the name `Linus' has an /ee/ sound in Swedish (Linus's family is part of Finland's 6% ethnic-Swedish minority). This may be the most remarkable hacker project in history -- an entire clone of Unix for 386, 486 and Pentium micros, distributed for free with sources over the net (ports to Alpha and Sparc and many other machines are also in use). Linux is what {GNU} aimed to be and it relies on the GNU toolset But the Free Software Foundation didn't produce the kernel to go with that toolset until 1999, which was too late. Other similar efforts like FreeBSD and NetBSD have been technically successful but never caught fire the way Linux has as this is written in 2000, Linux is seriously challenging Microsoft's OS dominance. It has already captured 31% of the Internet-server market and 25% of general business servers. An earlier version of this entry opined "The secret of Linux's success seems to be that Linus worked much harder early on to keep the development process open and recruit other hackers, creating a snowball effect." Truer than we knew. See {bazaar}. (Some people object that the name `Linux' should be used to refer only to the kernel, not the entire operating system. This claim is a proxy for an underlying territorial dispute; people who insist on the term `GNU/Linux' want the the {FSF} to get most of the credit for Linux because RMS and friends wrote many of its user-level tools. Neither this theory nor the term `GNU/Linux' has gained more than minority acceptance). From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (13 Mar 01) [foldoc]: Linux("Linus Unix") /li:'nuks/ (but see below) An implementation of the {Unix} {kernel} originally written from scratch with no proprietary code. The kernel runs on {Intel} and {Alpha} hardware in the general release, with {SPARC}, {PowerPC}, {MIPS}, {ARM}, {Amiga}, {Atari}, and {SGI} in active development. The SPARC, PowerPC, ARM, {PowerMAC} - {OSF}, and 68k ports all support {shells}, {X} and {networking}. The Intel and SPARC versions have reliable {symmetric multiprocessing}. Work on the kernel is coordinated by Linus Torvalds who holds the copyright on a large part of it The rest of the copyright is held by a large number of other contributors (or their employers). Regardless of the copyright ownerships, the kernel as a whole is available under the {GNU} {General Public License}. The GNU project supports Linux as its kernel until the research {Hurd} kernel is completed. This kernel would be no use without {application programs}. The GNU project has provided large numbers of quality tools, and together with other {public domain} software it is a rich Unix environment. A compilation of the Linux kernel and these tools is known as a Linux distribution. Compatibility modules and/or {emulators} exist for dozens of other computing environments. The kernel version numbers are significant: the odd numbered series (e.g. 1.3.xx) is the development (or beta) kernel which evolves very quickly. Stable (or release) kernels have even major version numbers (e.g. 1.2.xx). There is a lot of commercial support for and use of Linux, both by hardware companies such as {Digital}, {IBM}, and {Apple} and numerous smaller network and integration specialists. There are many commercially supported distributions which are generally entirely under the GPL. At least one distribution vendor guarantees {Posix} compliance. Linux is particularly popular for {Internet Service Providers}, and there are ports to both parallel supercomputers and {embedded} {microcontrollers}. {Debian} is one popular {open source} distribution. Some including Torvalds insist on the anomalous pronunciation /li'nuks/, the {Jargon File} prefers the rarely used /lee'nuhks/ because Linus" has an /ee/ sound in Swedish, others in the know say /li'niks/, but normal rules demand /li:'nuks/, which is also widely used and agrees with the normal english pronunciation of "Linus". {More on pronunciation (http://www.foldoc.org/pub/linux-pronunciation)}. {LinuxHQ (http://www.linuxhq.com/)}. {slashdot (http://slashdot.org/)}. {freshmeat (http://freshmeat.net/)}. {Woven Goods (http://www.fokus.gmd.de/linux/)}. {Linux Gazette (http://www.ssc.com/lg)}. {funet Linux Archive (ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/Linux)}, {US mirror (ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/)}, {UK Mirror (ftp://sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/Linux/)}. (2000-06-09)
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