Intendedpurpose
Server/mainframe: oneof the most popular small and medium scale server systems
Desktop/workstation: Canbe used as a general desktop system, more appropriate as a workstation systemfor those familiar with UNIX or those who want to tinker with their OS as ahobby — this is changing rapidly and with either KDE or GNOME, Linux can beused by an increasing number of general computing users.
Handheld:experimental and hobbyist only
Real time: notappropriate
Kind of OS: opensource UNIX†
“Linux is a free (GPL Licensed), from scratchoperating system based heavily on the POSIX and UNIX APIs. It supports both 32and 64 bit hardware and provides a stable multiuser internet ready operatingsystem. Linux itself is not UNIX, although many people call it that and you would be veryhard pushed to tell the difference. This is because the UNIX trademark has acost and is specific to systems that meet a complex set of X/Open standards.”
“Unix is a trademark that wastransferred by Novell Unixware (the result of Novell’s purchase of AT&TBell Lab’s Unix group) to the non-profit X/Open Company, Ltd, and is nowapparently owned by ‘The Open Group’ (the result of a merger between X/Open andOSF). To get their permission to call a product ‘Unix’, The Open Group requiresone to pass a number of validation suites that check conformance of APIs,commands and utilities, and the C compiler.” — Steve Byane56 (See also:
http://www.opengroup.org/testing/checklist/u98brand.html
“The “holy war” of computing these days —Microsoft’s Windows NT Server vs. UNIX — is, strangely enough, being upstagedby a johnny-come-lately called Linux. And while UNIX-clone Linux’s emergingpopularity gives small businesses another attractive alternative when plottingtheir network operating system (NOS) strategies, it also adds confusion to analready muddled issue.” — Jim Carr
“Technically, Windows NT Server 4.0 is nomatch for any UNIX operating system, not even the non-commercial BSDs [FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD] or Linux.” —John Kirch.
Release Date: Firstversion released on September 17, 1991.
Current Version: 2.6.4
Cost: free
“For the most cost-conscious customer, Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD,or OpenBSD would be the obvious choices. They cost nothing, yet they arejust as stable and offer as much functionality as, if not more than, thecommercial UNIX operating systems.” —“Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versusUNIX”
“Linux can be downloaded for free over the Internet orobtained inexpensively with support and documentation from a number ofcommercial vendors. This makes it an attractive product for companies trying toreduce the cost of licensing and managing OSes.” —R. Scott Raynovich and PollySprenger, “Linux legitimacy rallies NT skeptics”, LAN Times, 17 August 1998
“Randy Kessell, manager of technical analysis for aSouthwestern Bell operation center, notes that because Linux allows his companyto do more remote network administration and software loads than was possiblewith either Microsoft or NetWare products, it has driven down their networkmanagement costs.” —Ann Harrison, “In LINUX We…”, Software Magazine, CoverStory, September 1998
Hardware Supported:Intel/Cyrix/AMD Pentium, 80486, 80386, 80286 (partial port), 8086 (partialport), IBM/Motorola PowerPC, IBM RS/6000, Motorola 68060, 68040, 68030, 68020, 68000, Sun SPARC, Sun SPARC64(Ultra), SGI MIPS, DEC Alpha, HP-PA RISC, ARM, API 1000+, CL-PS7110
680x0assembly language is discussed in the assembly language section.