A brief history of Linux development

A brief history of Linux development

1.1969 years ago: Bell,mit and GE's "Mutics" system

Bell: Bell Labs, affiliated to T company

MIT: mit

GE: General Electric Corp.

Mutics: a "majority" means a resource ( multiuser ) that is intended to allow multiple people to use a single host at the same time

• In the early 60, MIT developed a time- sharing operating system that provided up to 30 terminals (technically limited) to connect a mainframe to allow more users to use the same expensive host resources at the same time;

• In 1965, Bell, MIT and GE jointly launched the Mutics project to enable large hosts to provide more than 300 terminals at the same time to connect large hosts;

• Mutics project funding was scarce around 1969, although the project was still in progress, but Bell eventually withdrew from the project;

· The Mutics project was ultimately successful, but did not receive much attention (demand issues).

2.1969 years: Ken Thompson's small file Server System

Thompson: member of the Bell Lab, who was involved in the development of the Mutics project

· The Mutics project has fostered excellent talent, and Thompson is one of them;

· Thompson got a lot of ideas from the Mutics project.

• In order to transplant the "space travel" game, Thompson simplifies the large and complex system in the Mutics project and writes out a set of kernel programs , kernel tools, and programs in assembly language on the PDP-7 host. and a small file system , known as UNICs (Unix prototypes);

· Thompson developed the file system concept:

A. All programs or system devices are files

B. Regardless of whether the build editor or the subsidiary file, the program written only one purpose, is to effectively accomplish the goal

3.1973: Unix officially born, Ritchie and others write the first formal UNIX kernel in C language

assembly Language: With specificity, hardware-related, UNICs is developed with assembly language

B Language: high-level language, but the compiled kernel performance is not very good

C Language: high-level language, written by Dennis Ritchie to rewrite the B language

· Thompson developed UNICs practicality and was widely circulated inside Bell;

• At that time the computer machine architecture (Hardware architecture) was not quite the same, which brought some complexity to unics transplantation;

· Ritchie the B language into C language, and with Thompson, with the C language to re-bound and compiled UNICs kernel;

• Release a formal version of Unix;

• Because of the high-level language features,Unix can easily be ported to different machines (hardware architectures with different hosts).

4.1977: The birth of the important UNIX branch--bsd

Portability: Unix developed in high-level language, the theory is portable, that is, as long as the UNIX source code, for different host features to modify, that can be ported to different hosts

Berkeley: Berkeley, California

Bill Joy: Sun's founder

Berkeley softsare Distribution: that is BSD

FreeBSD: from the BSD revision, can be installed in the x86 hardware architecture

• Thanks to the portable nature of UNIX, 1973 years later, Bell was able to work with academia to develop UNIX (academic research in academia, often using computers, which lacked a good operating system);

· Bell had an important contact with the Berkeley;

· Berkeley Bill Joy after the Unix kernel source, modified to fit their own machine version, add a lot of tool software and compiler program, and named it Berkeley Softsare distribution, namely BSD;

· Bell Joy created the Sun company to develop its own commercial UNIX version with its modified kernel (BSD).

5.1979 years: Important System V architecture and copyright notice

protocol: this refers to the general production protocol for the hardware architecture, when the computer hardware company does not have the concept, so the hardware produced requires the appropriate UNIX system

x86: Early PC architecture, the CPU in this architecture has no multitasking capability

Thoroughbred Unix: refers to BSD and system V

· Unix high portability, strong performance, no copyright disputes, commercial companies to develop the UNIX operating system, the introduction of their own host with "Home" Unix operating system;

• The hardware developed by these companies does not follow a unified protocol (not at the time), and the UNIX operating system and related software developed can only be run on the host of its own hardware architecture;

• These companies are: T, IBM, HP, DEC, Sun, Cray, etc.;

· UNIX emphasizes multiuser, multitasking, no one is willing to migrate UNIX to the x86 architecture host due to the x86 characteristics;

· At-t launch of System V version Seventh Unix, a PC supporting the x86 architecture;

· AT/t for business reasons, the release of its seventh edition of Unix, "not to provide students with source code", that is, the UNIX copyright recovery.

One of 6.1984 years: x86 architecture Minix operating system was born

Minix: mini UNIX Operating system

· System v Seven version of the copyright notice, affecting the teaching of Unix kernel source knowledge of Professor Tan Ningbong;

• For the convenience of teaching, Tan Ningbong is a UNIX-compatible mini UNIX operating system Minix;

· Minix can only be purchased through disk/tape, but provide Minix source code;

• Professor Tan Ningbong did not continue to develop Minix, just donuts.

7.1984 bis: The GNU Project and the FSF Foundation

Richard Mathew Stallman: Storman, founder of GNU Project, drafting GPL

GNU Project: Create a free, open UNIX operating system

GPL: general public License,gnu Common license to avoid the commercial exploitation of GNU Free software

AI Lab.: The famous AI lab in the hacker Circle, Storman into the lab in 1971 .

Lisp: The operating system developed by MIT, a proprietary software, is used by Storman to develop software early in lab .

Free software Foundation: FSF, free Software Foundation

-A free-to-share environment

• Storman early into AI Lab, emphasizing "sharing", the lack of patents for software;

· AI Lab. Management issues that lead to excellent hackers leaving and joining commercial companies to develop software;

• Storman insisted on sharing, freedom, but was aware of the need to set up an open group to work together.

--Using the UNIX development phase

• The replacement of the hardware in the lab, allowing Storman to give up Lisp and access to UNIX;

· UNIX was a proprietary software at the time, but it was more open architecture than Lisp.

• Storman the software written on Lisp to UNIX and publish the source code.

Promotion of the--GNU project

• 1984 Storman started the GNU Project, which aims to create a free and open Unix operating system;

• It is not easy and difficult to create an operating system because it was only used Storman a person at that time;

• Storman adopts the strategy of "first developing software on UNIX operating system", which is called GNU Software;

• Developed Emacs: Program editor (not compiler), to check the program syntax;

• To develop a compiler program under UNIX (very important), Storman uses Emacs to sell earned money and set up the FSF;

· The FSF invites more engineers and volunteers to write software;

• Key software developed: Compiler for GCC,C language

8.1985-Year: GNU General Public License--GPL

• Drafting of the GPL to prevent GNU Free software from being exploited by others as a proprietary software

· Important free software for the GNU Project:

Emacs

GNU C (GCC)

GNU C Library (GLIBC)

Bash Shell

• These software enables software developers to better develop their software, thereby expanding the free software community;

• The software still works on those licensed UNIX platforms, when there is no "free Unix kernel" to exist until Linux appears.

9.1988 year: graphical interface XFree86 Project

XFREE86: A nonprofit organization that develops user graphics interfaces, i.e. x Window System + FREE + x86 abbreviation

• Increased demand for user graphics interfaces;

· MIT has worked with third parties in 1984 to develop the X Window System;

· MIT founded the nonprofit organization XFree86 in 1988.

10.1991: A message from Dutch university student Linus Torvalds

• In 1991, Torvalds posted a message on the BBS, saying that a small kernel program was written with tools such as BASH,GCC and can be run on Intel's 386 machine.

Ii. GNU Project

1. Free software (software) activity

· The act of releasing the source code together with a software program is a free software activity.

2. Copyright of free software: GNU GPL

· Gnu=gnu ' s not UNIX;

· GNU and FSF developed software are linked to the GPL copyright statement, the FSF core concept is: copyright system is to promote social progress means, copyright itself is not natural power.

3. The true meaning of free software "free"

• Storman has always emphasized free for the GPL;

· Explanation of Free:

-English Explanation:

-Chinese to the general effect:

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A brief history of Linux development