A brief history of Linux

Initial Chaos Opening

It was in the 1991, the painful cold War gradually came to an end. Peaceful and serene air began to rise on the horizon. In the field of computational science, with the introduction of powerful hardware, the limits of computers have exceeded our imagination, and a glorious future seems to be fading.

But there's still something missing. In the field of operating system, there is a large gap.

On the one hand, DOS also dominates the vast PC kingdom. Bill Gates spends $50,000 from a Seattle hacker to buy DOS. Then, relying on the clever marketing strategy, this simple operating system crept into every corner of the world. There are no other options for PC users. The Apple machine is good, but it's a huge price that no one can afford. It is a distant distance from the mass demand.

Another faction in computing is the UNIX world. But UNIX is more expensive to climb. In pursuit of high profits, UNIX vendors raise the price to scare away any PC user. Bell Labs has generously offered UNIX source code to colleges and universities. But now, these source code is carefully guarded, no longer open to the outside. To the annoyance of the global PC users, the big players in the software market are not able to provide an effective solution to this problem.

Minix seems to be a choice. It was written by Andrew S. Tanenbaum, an American professor in the Netherlands. Minix's intention was to teach the students the internal workings of the operating system. Minix is designed for the most popular Intel 8086 microprocessors at the time.

As an operating system, Minix is not a top notch. But the advantage of it is that you can get its source code. As long as you have Tanenbaum wrote the "Operating system: Design and implementation" This book, you can get the 12,000 lines with C and the source code written. For the first time, a programmer or hacker can have the opportunity to read the source code of the operating system-something that is heavily guarded by software vendors. Tanenbaum The art of writing an operating system with detailed and concise strokes. He was a first-rate author, fascinated by a group of the most intelligent brains in the computer field. Computer-Learning students all over the world are poring over the book, reading its source code to learn about the Minix operating system running on their computers.

Linus Torvalds is one of these students.

born

In 1991, Linus Benedict Torvalds was a Finnish student in the second year of Computer science at the University of Helsinki. He is also a self-taught hacker. The 21-year-old Finnish guy with yellow hair on the beach and a soft tongue likes to toss his computer and push it to the limit of his ability. But he lacks a suitable operating system to meet his professional needs. Minix good, but it is only suitable for students, is a teaching tool, rather than a strong practical system.

At the time, the world's program worms were very optimistic about Richard Stallman's GNU Project, a campaign dedicated to the introduction of free, high-quality software.

In the realm of computational science, Stallman is a revered mythical hero. His admirable career began with the famous MIT AI Lab.

In the late 70, there he opened the famous Emacs editor.

In the early 80, commercial software companies attracted the vast majority of good programmers from AI Labs and signed strict confidentiality contracts with them. Stallman is very uncomfortable with this. He thinks software is different from other products, and it should not be subject to any limitations in terms of reproduction or modification. Only in this way can we develop better and stronger software.

In 1983, in his famous GNU manifesto, he proclaimed the beginning of the GNU Project and began a free software movement that carried out its philosophy (note: The term GNU is a recursive abbreviation of ' GNU ' not Unix '). In order to finally realize the dream of developing a free operating system, he had to make some tools first.

As a result, in early 1984, Stallman began to create a work--gnu C compiler (GCC) that would impress commercial enterprise programmers. His superb technical genius shame all business software programmers. GCC is recognized as one of the most efficient and robust compilers in the world.

The founder of the Richard Stallman,gnu project.

By 1991, the GNU Project had developed numerous tools and software. The long-awaited GNU C compiler also came out. But the free operating system has not yet appeared. Minix was also subject to copyright (later, in April 2000, Tanenbaum released the free Minix under the BSD license). The GNU operating system kernel---HURD---is still under development and will not be available for a few years.

After so long, it's time to talk about Linus.

August 25, 1991, Linus a historic post at the Minix News Group:

From: [Email protected] (Linus Benedict Torvalds)
Newsgroups:comp.os.minix
Subject:what would do you like to see the most in Minix?
Summary:small poll for my new operating system
Message-id: <[email protected]>
Date:25 20:57:08 GMT
Organization:university of Helsinki

Hello, all of you who use Minix:
I'm writing a (free) operating system based on the 386 (486) at machine (just out of a hobby, not as big or professional as GNU). I've been brewing since April, and I've done it pretty much now. Now I want to know some of your views on Minix, what's the point? What's wrong? Because I have this operating system and Minix somewhat similar (the file system uses the same physical layout [for practical reasons], other aspects also have similar places). I've ported bash (1.08) and GCC (1.40), and they're working. This means that in the next few months I will add more practical functionality to it. So I want to know what we all want it to be. You are welcome to make more suggestions, but I am not sure I can achieve your suggestion.

Linus ([email protected])

Attached: Yes, it does not contain any Minix code, and it has a multithreaded file system. It cannot be turned on other hardware at this time (because of the 386 task switching mechanism, etc.), and in addition to the at drive, it basically does not support any other hardware. That's all.

It is not hard to see from this post that Linus himself did not anticipate that his small creation would change the whole field of computational science. In mid-September 1991, Linux version 0.01 came out and was put on the web. It immediately caught the attention of the people. The source code is downloaded, tested, modified, and eventually fed back to Linus. October 5, version 0.02 came out, accompanied by Linus's famous statement:

From: [Email protected] (Linus Benedict Torvalds)
Newsgroups:comp.os.minix
Subject:free minix-like kernel sources for 386-at
Message-id: <[email protected]>
Date:5 Oct 05:41:06 GMT
Organization:university of Helsinki

Do you miss the good times of minix-1.1? At that time you write your own drive, full of sense of accomplishment. There is no good project to do now, is there? You're struggling with an operating system and modifying it to meet your own needs, right? Now Minix there is no need for you to improve, you disappointed, right? No chance to stay up all night to improve a small program, right? If that's the case, then this post is for you:-)

One months ago I mentioned that I was developing a free-version, Minix-like operating system on a AT-386 machine. Now it's finally out (though it may not be enough to meet your expectations). I'm happy to expose the source code to make it more widespread. It is now only version 0.02 (plus a small patch). But I've managed to run the bash/gcc/gnu-make/gnu-sed/compress on it. My little baby's source program can be found in the/pub/os/linux directory below nic.funet.fi (128.214.6.100). There are also some README files in this directory, and several executables that work under Linux (Bash,update and GCC, what else do you want to:-)?). The complete kernel source code is published here, because it is useless to the Minix source program. The source program of the library is only partially open source, so it is not available at this time. Once you get the source code, you can compile it directly. After compiling, you can turn. Ha ha. The executable program (bash and GCC) source code can be found in the/pub/gnu directory of the same website.

Linus ([email protected])

A few weeks later, Linux version 0.03 was released. In December, version 0.10 was released. At this time, Linux is still very humble. It can only support an at drive, and does not have to log on (boot into bash). Version 0.11 has a lot of improvements that can support multi-language keyboards, floppy drives, VGA, EGA, Hercules and so on. The Linux version number has risen directly from 0.12 to 0.95, 0.96 ... soon, the source code for Linux has spread throughout the world through FTP sites in Finland and elsewhere.

who's to contend withsoon, Linus began to face the challenge. He was not confronted by others, Andrew Tanenbaum, the great teacher who developed Minix.

In a huitie to Linus, Tanenbaum writes:

"I still stick to my point of view, and designing the core of such a monolithic architecture in 1991 is a fundamental mistake. You should be thankful that you are not my student. This design, you can't get high score:-) in my place.
(Andrew Tanenbaum to Linus Torvalds)

Linus later admitted that it was a worst-case assessment of the development of Linux. Tanenbaum was a well-known professor at the time, and what he said naturally had a lot of weight. But this time, the face of Linux, his words did not work, because Linus is not a easy to concede the person.

Tanenbaum also declared: "Linux is out of date." ”

Now it's time for the new Linux generation to start fighting back. Backed by a strong Linux community, Linus gave Tanenbaum an appropriate response:

Your job is to be a professor and researcher. This is a wonderful explanation for Minix's brain damage.
(Linus Torvalds to Andrew Tanenbaum)

The development of Linux continues. Soon, the number of people who joined the development was more than 100, then thousands of, then hundreds of thousands of. Linux is no longer just a hacker's toy, and with many of the software developed by the GNU project, Linux is ready to go to market. It is eventually released under the GNU Public License, which guarantees that anyone can freely access its source code and be free to copy, learn and modify it. Neither the students nor the handlers missed the opportunity.

It was not long before the software vendors came. Linux is the free operating system. What software developers need to do is compile all kinds of software on the Linux platform and organize them into a form that can be marketed. This is no different from the operating mode of the other OS, but Linux is free. Redhat, Caldera, and other companies have gained considerable market access to users from all over the world. In addition to these commercial companies, non-commercial programming experts have volunteered to launch their own brand, the world-renowned Debian. With a new graphical interface (such as x Window System, KDE, GNOME), the various brands of Linux are popular.

The show is even a surprise. In addition to the PC, Linux has been ported to many other platforms (PowerPC, Sun Sparc, ARM, Alpha ...). Debian supports more than 10 kinds of CPUs). It was also installed on a 3com palm computer. In addition, with cluster technology, many Linux standalone machines can be organized into a single unit for parallel computing. In April 1996, researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory built a parallel computing system using 68 Linux machines to simulate the shock waves of an atomic bomb. Unlike other supercomputers, clustered computers built with Linux are cheap. This DIY supercomputer only costs $152,000, including manual (connecting 68 PC cables). This price is only one-tenth of the same level commercial machine. Its peak calculation speed is up to 19 billion times per second (billion). It ranks No. 315 in the world supercomputer rankings. It runs stably and reliably. After three months, you do not have to restart.

Today, the biggest advantage of Linux is the great development passion that drives it forward. Once new hardware is available, the Linux kernel can be quickly improved to accommodate it. For example, the Intel Xeon microprocessor has been in existence for weeks, and the new Linux kernel is coming up. It is also used on Alpha, MAC, PowerPC. Linux can be run even in the hand machine, a rare field. As it was born in 1991, Linux is striding towards the new century with the same enthusiasm.

As for Linus himself, he kept a simple life. Unlike Bill Gates, Linus is not a billionaire. After finishing his studies, he moved to the United States to find a job at the Transmeta company. Transmeta company launched its own Crusoe processor after directing the development of a top-secret project. Linus is an active member of the research and development team. Recently, he and Tove married, gave birth to a daughter, named Patricia Miranda Torvalds. The computer community around the world is Linus praise, and so far he is the most popular programmer on our planet.

The father of Linux: Linus Torvalds

ten years of wind and rain

The development of Linux has gone through 10 of years. It has used 10 years of vigorous development to negate all skepticism and warnings and predictions. Today, Linux is one of the fastest-growing operating systems ever. From the 91, 92 of several technical enthusiasts to the today's millions of ordinary users, this is definitely an extraordinary journey. The fact that big business companies "discovered" Linux and poured millions of dollars into development mercilessly refutes the fallacy of "open source campaigns against business." IBM once viewed the open source community as a scourge. Now, it has shifted a lot of money to a Linux-based open source solution.

But the real surprise is that the Linux development team continues to grow and spread around the world. These developers are constantly improving the functionality and performance of Linux with a strong energy and high passion. The development of Linux did not "end up in chaos" as the "code-blocking commentators" had described it. On the contrary, the development of Linux is organized and orderly, and it employs a well-designed and carefully maintained development model. In this efficient development model, thousands of developers inject a wide variety of applications into the Linux platform.

Businesses are no longer Jieju Linux, so a large number of software vendors are starting to offer product support on the Linux platform. Software quality is more reliable, and using Linux in the Office does not have to be "at your peril". When it comes to reliability, Linux proved its strength in 1999 when the CIH virus raged and a year later, when the ' Love Worm ' virus became popular. These fairly simple viruses make a mess of the world, and all Linux machines are unaffected. This is a good indication of its excellent immunity. When Redhat such a Linux pacesetter went to the market, they received a warm welcome. Even after the dot-com dotcom bust in recent years, they have continued to thrive. This has also greatly enhanced people's confidence in Linux. Many large and small commercial companies began using Linux as a server and workstation platform, and Linux as a reliable support for office systems.

The rise of Linux desktop applications

So what do people complain about most about Linux? In the past, it might have been the character interface of it. Many people who are interested in Linux are frightened by the traditional character interface. "The character interface can make you omnipotent", some persistent hackers will explain this to you. But for millions of of ordinary users, that means spending a lot of time and effort to learn it. The Ready-made X Window graphical interface and window Manager do not meet the expectations of ordinary computer users. This has been an attack on MS Windows followers. But in the past few years, things have changed. A very professional desktop environment like KDE and GNOME is now in front of people. The newer versions of these desktop environments give people a better understanding of the "user-friendliness" of Linux. Despite the complaints of some hardcore users, graphics make the hacker culture lose its original pure taste. But the graphics greatly improved the image of Linux in the eyes of ordinary users, and promoted the popularity and popularization of Linux.

KDE 4.7 Desktop Environment

GNOME 3.0 Desktop Environment

Linux in the third World

Linux has been widely disseminated in developing countries. This may be the place where it affects the world the most. Before the advent of Linux, developing countries lagged far behind the West in computational science. Hardware prices continue to decline, but in the third world countries, computer enthusiasts are full of enthusiasm, but the purse is shy. The high price of software has been a huge economic burden. Helpless, they can only resort to a variety of pirated software. This directly led to the proliferation of piracy, the amount of piracy up to $ trillions of. Again, most commercial software is priced far beyond the affordability of people in developing countries. For example, a typical operating system software is priced at least $. In a country with an annual per capita income of only $200-$300, this is a huge number.


The rise of Linux and other open source software has revolutionized all this. After an appropriate reduction, Linux can run on a computer with a very low hardware configuration. This makes Linux an ideal choice for the poor. Old machines, such as 486/pentium 1 computers, which have become history in the developed world, are still being used in developing countries. Linux keeps these old machines functioning. In the third World, high software prices are a big problem, so open source software has been widely disseminated. At Latin America, Linux has become a choice for many computer enthusiasts. In every corner of the world, Linux is localized. It marks a truly global move. Linux-related files have been translated into various languages, including many unpopular languages, such as Vietnamese.

from the desktop system to the super computerLinus Torvalds originally developed Linux, just out of a hacker's hobby. Since Linux ran on a broken 386 machine, it has come a long way now. Today, its most compelling area of application is massively parallel computing clusters.

According to the World supercomputer TOP500 rankings, Linux not only dominates, it also has the potential to squeeze other opponents into the top 500 list. In the world's 500 fastest computers, the strong open-source operating system Linux accounted for 485 of the seats, and then high innovation. In other words, 97% of the world's fastest computers are Linux-based.

towards the futureLinux has evolved from a hacker's personal project to a global operating system, a process that is like a biological evolution. In the early 80, Richard Stallman launched the GNU project, laying the groundwork for the development of open source software. Professor Andrew Tanenbaum developed the Minix system, bringing the study of the operating system from simple theoretical teaching to the practical stage. In the end, Linus Torvalds with his endless passion for perfection that spawned Linux. In the past few years, thousands of people in the open source community have been nurturing it and composing a glorious page in the annals of Computer revolution. Today, Linux is no longer a student hacking project, it has become a world-wide miracle. In the spirit of the open source movement, big companies such as IBM and millions of enthusiastic people have joined in. In the history of computational science, it will be one of the most glorious achievements of mankind.

The logo of Linux is a little penguin. Unlike other commercial operating systems, Linux does not adopt an AWE-free logo. The little guy in a black tuxedo fully expresses the carefree, carefree, fearless attitude of free software movement. This lovely logo was born in a funny little story. According to Linus, Linux did not initially have a logo. Once, Linus went to a place in the southern hemisphere for a holiday and met a penguin. It doesn't look like the current Linux logo. Linus wanted to get close to the little guy. As a result, the little penguin slapped a heavy wing on his palm. This interesting experience led to the birth of the Linux logo later.

Linux

A brief history of Linux