Intended
purpose
Server/mainframe: one
of the most popular small and medium scale server systems
Desktop/workstation: Can
be used as a general desktop system, more appropriate as a workstation system
for those familiar with UNIX or those who want to tinker with their OS as a
hobby — this is changing rapidly and with either KDE or GNOME, Linux can be
used by an increasing number of general computing users.
Handheld:
experimental and hobbyist only
Real time: not
appropriate
Kind of OS: open
source UNIX†
“Linux is a free (GPL Licensed), from scratch
operating system based heavily on the POSIX and UNIX APIs. It supports both 32
and 64 bit hardware and provides a stable multiuser internet ready operating
system. Linux itself is not UNIX, although many people call it that and you would be very
hard pushed to tell the difference. This is because the UNIX trademark has a
cost and is specific to systems that meet a complex set of X/Open standards.”
“Unix is a trademark that was
transferred by Novell Unixware (the result of Novell’s purchase of AT&T
Bell Lab’s Unix group) to the non-profit X/Open Company, Ltd, and is now
apparently owned by ‘The Open Group’ (the result of a merger between X/Open and
OSF). To get their permission to call a product ‘Unix’, The Open Group requires
one 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 upstaged
by a johnny-come-lately called Linux. And while UNIX-clone Linux’s emerging
popularity gives small businesses another attractive alternative when plotting
their network operating system (NOS) strategies, it also adds confusion to an
already muddled issue.” — Jim Carr
“Technically, Windows NT Server 4.0 is no
match for any UNIX operating system, not even the non-commercial BSDs [FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD] or Linux.” —John Kirch.
Release Date: First
version 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 are
just as stable and offer as much functionality as, if not more than, the
commercial UNIX operating systems.” —“Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus
UNIX”
“Linux can be downloaded for free over the Internet or
obtained inexpensively with support and documentation from a number of
commercial vendors. This makes it an attractive product for companies trying to
reduce the cost of licensing and managing OSes.” —R. Scott Raynovich and Polly
Sprenger, “Linux legitimacy rallies NT skeptics”, LAN Times, 17 August 1998
“Randy Kessell, manager of technical analysis for a
Southwestern Bell operation center, notes that because Linux allows his company
to do more remote network administration and software loads than was possible
with either Microsoft or NetWare products, it has driven down their network
management costs.” —Ann Harrison, “In LINUX We…”, Software Magazine, Cover
Story, September 1998
Hardware Supported:
Intel/Cyrix/AMD Pentium, 80486, 80386, 80286 (partial port), 8086 (partial
port), 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
680x0
assembly language is discussed in the assembly language section.