What is the difference between Linux and BSD?

Article Title: What is the difference between Linux and BSD ?. Linux is a technology channel of the IT lab in China. Includes basic categories such as desktop applications, Linux system management, kernel research, embedded systems, and open source.

Do you often hear people confuse Linux and BSD systems? Yes, I often hear from new users and even the media. Of course, the two actually have many similarities. For example, they are all developed based on Unix, and basically both systems are developed by non-profit organizations and teams, in addition, what I would like to say is that both systems share a common goal? That is to create the most useful and reliable operating system.

However, the two systems do have obvious differences. When people ignore this, the entire BSD community will be very angry, therefore, we can also often see that the BSD Community staff or BSD users will not care about Linux. Therefore, I will do my best to help my BSD brethren and let more people know where the differences between Linux and BSD are.

1. License

As we know, the Linux operating system is based on the GPL license authorization. This license prevents open source software from being converted to closed source software and ensures source code availability. The purpose of the GPL license is to prevent Binary packages from becoming the only software distribution source.

BSD licenses have much less restrictions, and even allow Binary packages to become the only distribution source. This is the core difference. It can be understood as follows: the GPL license gives you the right to have any method you want to use the software, but you must make sure that the source code is provided to the next person who uses it (including the part you change to it ). The BSD license does not require you to do that.

2. Code Control

The BSD code is not controlled by anyone, and the Linux kernel is basically controlled by Linus Torvalds (founder of Linux, there is no single person in BSD who can or cannot access the code. On the contrary, BSD manages the project through a Core Team "Core Team", which has more say than a non-Core Team to guide the development direction of the BSD community: as far as I know, members of the FreeBSDD core team will be elected every two years .)

3. kernel vs operating system

The BSD project maintains the entire operating system, while Linux only focuses on a single kernel. This is indeed worth noting, although many of the same software is running on both systems.

4. UNIX-Like

Here is an old saying about BSD vs Linux: "BSD is what you get when a bunch of UNIX hackers sit down to try to port a UNIX system to the PC. linux is what you get when a bunch of PC hackers sit down and try to write a UNIX system for the PC ", which expresses a lot here. You will find that the BSD system is more similar to UNIX, and in fact it is a direct derivative of traditional UNIX. Linux is a loose UNIX derivative (Minix)-based OS.

5. Basic System

This is a critical concept about the differences between BSD and Linux. Linux's "Basic System" does not really exist. Many people will say that the basic system of Linux is the kernel, but the problem is that if there are no available applications, therefore, this kernel has no value at all. On the other hand, BSD has a basic system that includes many tools, and even libc is part of the basic system. Because these components are used as a basic system, they are all developed and packaged together. Many facts show that this makes it easier to create a more cohesive whole.

6. More from source code

Because of the relationship between the BSD development method (using the Ports system), most users install programs from the source code, rather than pre-compiled Binary packages. Is this an advantage or disadvantage? It depends on different users. If you want to think more about friendliness or usability, you may give up on this point, especially for new users. However, some new users also want to compile and install from the source code, which may be quite tiring. However, source code installation also has some advantages, such as library version control and system construction through special packages ).

7. Upgrade

Due to the BSD development method (see item 5th ), you can use one command to upgrade your basic system to the latest version (Freebsd-update fetch update command is used in freebsd ). Alternatively, you can download the entire source code tree and upgrade it through compilation. In Linux, you can also upgrade the system through the built-in package management system. The former (BSD) only updates the basic system, while the latter (Linux) will upgrade the entire system. Remember that upgrading BSD to the latest basic system does not mean that all additional software packages will be updated, but all software packages will be upgraded during Linux upgrade. Does this mean Linux can handle it better? Not necessarily for me. I often see serious errors during Linux upgrades, so I need to reinstall the entire system. However, this phenomenon is unlikely to happen in the BSD upgrade process.

8. cutting-edge technologies

Basically, you are unlikely to see any very cutting-edge version of the BSD system running. In Linux, a large number of distributions distribute cutting-edge software packages. If you are a holder of the "If it isn' t broken, don't fix it" idea, you will be a super fan of BSD. However, if you are very trendy and want to experience all the latest things, you 'd better migrate to Linux as soon as possible.

9. Hardware Support

You will find that Linux hardware is usually supported earlier than BSD. But this does not mean that BSD does not support enough hardware as Linux does. It just means that in some cases, Linux will support some hardware before BSD. Therefore, if you want the latest and best video card, you do not need to consider BSD. If you have a new laptop with the latest wireless chip, we recommend that you choose Linux. If you are lucky, it may be supported.

10. User Group

Here I am taking an adventure to summarize computer users, but I want to declare that every thing has an exception first. Next I will show you my overview of user distribution.

Mac?> Windows?> Linux?> BSD?> UNIX

From the left to the right, there is a transition from "the users who use the OS have the least computer-proficient user groups" to "the users who use the OS have the most computer-proficient user groups. We can see that Linux is placed in the middle, while BSD is closer to the right. Many people will argue about this, and some may feel offended. However, I personally think this is a fairly accurate summary of "which users use which systems.

Other differences?

This list does not want to indicate which system is better than which. In fact, BSD and Linux have their own highlights. What do you think? If you are interested, express your point of view.

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