The History of Linux

♦ 1 Simple Introduction to Linux

Linux is like Windows is a set of OS (operating system), Windows interface Beautiful, ordinary users are easy to use, a little mouse can do a lot of things, and Linux is born for programmers, so proficient in Linux is very good command line, Can say the command line is the most basic thing of learning Linux, the operation is not so easy to use relative to Windows, but very complex, because the command line is difficult to understand, it is now Linux is only popular among programmers, and ordinary computer users may not know its existence, I was also heard, until now I have a desperate desire to learn it, well, not much nonsense to say.

Operating system = Kernel (kernel) + system call interface, the kernel is closely related to hardware, as shown in Figure 1.1, only the kernel, you can only run the computer, and you can do nothing, dry staring at work, so that the operating system in addition to the kernel outside the system call interface is quite important, with them, Software developers can exploit these interfaces to develop software that makes the operating system more perfect.

1.1

When Mr. Torvalds wrote Linux, the OS was just as simple as the kernel and interface, and it was developed for 386来, so it could only "let the computer run and wait for the user to enter instructions", and in fact, there were few software to run on Linux.

Each type ofOSis running on its dedicated machine, likeWindowsThe system is specifically designed for personal computing intoX86architecture of the hardware to design that someone askedWindowsThe operating system can be installed on Apple's Macintosh computer (MAC)Is it up there? The result is obviously not possible, why, the hardware is controlled by the kernel,Windowsthe kernel of the operating system can only controlIntelof theX86architecture of the hardware, and .years ago Apple was pleaseIBMthe company develops hardware (so-calledPower CPU), and thenApplein this hardware architecture, develop your ownOS(i.e.Mac), soWindowsis not installed on an Apple computer. But in .years later, Apple also adoptedIntelof theX86architecture, it is possible toWindowsused toMacComputer, note that it is only possible, it is said that due to the existence of compatibility problems, I do not understand here. BesidesLinuxbar, this system is aOpen Source(open source) operating system, which is destined to have "portable" this powerful advantage, theoretically speakingLinuxThe source code can be modified to run on a variety of machines,Windowsclosed source is not ah, this laid theLinux's good future.

Linux is a complete architecture that provides the lowest level of hardware control and resource management in a complete operating system, which is very stable and powerful, with a good tradition of Unix.

So more and more software developers are gradually moving their work to the system, so the software that can be run on Linux is not a minority. These software and Linux together form a more powerful, more stable operating system has developed so far.

♦2. as Linux how to get back to the end, it will be from Unix Speaking of which, let's talk about Unix to build something about it.

2.1 1969 years ago--Multics Project

There may be only one host in a school around the age of the year, and so many students have to wait for it to be used, after MIT ) developed a time-sharing operating system (compatible time-sharing system,CTSS), It allows multiple terminals to operate on host resources by connecting large hosts, and its architecture 2.1

2.1

These terminals can only provide input and output functions, they do not have the ability to install software or computing, and the most advanced host can only connect more than one terminal. In order to enhance the functionality of mainframe, so that more users take advantage of the resources of the host, so around 1965 years, from Bell Labs (Bell), MIT (mit ) and General Electric (ge) co-sponsored the Multics project,Multics The ultimate goal is to allow a mainframe to access more than a single terminal at the same time. But later, due to a lack of funding, the project ended up without success, and Bell Labs withdrew from the project.

Although the project is unsuccessful, the talent that this project has cultivated is quite good.

2.2 1969 -Ken Thompson 's small File Server System

Ken Thompson was One of the Bell Labs staff involved in the Multics project, and he got a little idea from Multics , which took him four weeks to Finally, a set of kernel programs was written in assembly language (assembier), including some kernel tools and a small file system. The system is A prototype of UNIX, dubbed UNICs by colleagues . It can only be said that "technology comes from human nature".

2.3 1973 --Unix was formally born,Ritchie and others wrote the First formal Unix in C language Kernel

Because the OS that Thompson wrote was so easy to use, it was widely circulated inside Bell Labs and has been revised many times. But because UNICs Use assembly language written out, assembly language specificity, so if the computer architecture is different, each installation will have to re-write this step, gray often inconvenient.

The ready-made high-level languages wereBlanguage, but there areBlanguage compiled kernel performance is not very good, soDennis Ritchiewill beBthe language was rewritten asClanguage,Thompson,Ritchiesco-operation with two peopleClanguage re-writtenUNICskernel, and the final release of theUnixthe official version!! Here you will find, Oh,CThat's how the language came from, it's amazing. Clanguage makesUnixcan easily be transplanted to different machines.

2.4 1977-The birth of an important Unix branch -bsd

Bill Joy of the University of Berkeley, after acquiring the UNIX kernel source, began to modify the appropriate version of the machine, and at the same time added a lot of tool software and compiler to see, and eventually named it Berkeley Software Distribution ( BSD ). This BSD is A very important branch of UNIX, andBill Joy is also Sun the founder of this company.

2.5 1979 : Important System V Architecture and copyright notice

Early UNIX can only be equated with servers (server) and large workstations (Workstation)! It didn't change until the company introduced System v , andthe most special part of the architecture ofS v is the support X86 Architecture of a personal computer system, which means it can be installed on a personal computer and run.

However, at/t out of consideration for business and in the context of that time, he wanted to reclaim the copyright of UNIX. Therefore, at /T in the Seventh edition of UNIX issued in 1979 , the statement "cannot provide the source code for students", this incident also caused UNIX the tensions between the industry and many commercial disputes have been raised.

Note: What is now known as Thoroughbred UNIX refers to System V and BSD These two sets .

2.6 1984 :X86 architecture minux operating system was born

Because1979the copyright Notice of the year, affecting the professor onUNIXTeaching, unable to provide students withUNIXSource, professor can not explain, Professor Tan Ningbong is one of them, he wrote aX86running on theUNIX likethe kernel programMinix, in order to avoid copyright disputes, Professor Tan Ningbong in the process of writing at allUNIXkernel source, and emphasizeMinixmust be associated withUNIXcompatible, until1986year is finally finished.

Minix Operating system developers only Tan Ningbong professor, because the academic is very busy, and Tan Ningbong always think Minix is mainly used in education, so Minix is donuts. Minix is very popular, but it can no longer move to a higher position.

2.7 1984 Year:GUN project and FSF Foundation established

All two of these things are Storman (English name:Richard Mathew Stallman,RMS),GUNThe purpose of the project creation is to create a free, openUNIXOperating System (Free UNIX), he was unable to complete a single person, so he sold the one he had written himselfEmacsto make money,Emacsis a very good and excellent program editor, very cow, earn a little money after the full effort to write other software, and set up the Free Software Foundation (Free software Foundation,FSF), more engineers and volunteers wrote the software together and wroteGCCthis thanEmacsMore excellent tools, and more can be calledCfunction library (GNU C Library), and the basic interface that can be used by the operating systemBash Shell, about in1990years of completion.

♦3. Torvalds 's Linux Development

The emergence of the GUN,GCC,minux , and so on are the cornerstones of Torvalds's development of Linux , and the use of these things , Torvalds wrote his own operating system, when the kernel program can run smoothly on 386, he wants to get everyone's opinion, so the kernel is put on the internet for everyone to download.

。。。。。

After the various Linux team produced, to the current large distributions Rampant this process I automatically omitted.

♦4. just a little bit more knowledge.

4.1 Primary and secondary versions for cardinality: in development (Development)

such as 2.5.xx, this kernel is mainly used for testing and development of new features, after many engineers tested no problem, only to join the next version of the stable kernel.

4.2 Primary and secondary versions are even: Stable version (stable)

such as 2.6.xx, this version can be provided to the user to use.

If you want to learn, suggest CentOS as an entry system. Speaking of which, this article ends here. 2015-11-1016:49:36

The History of Linux