What Is Linux

What is Linux

Linux is the kernel that is used by all Linux distributions that can be installed on personal computers, laptops, and single board computers like: Raspberry Pi.

Linux is used on the majorities of servers, mainframes, and all of the 500 supercomputers in the world.

Google uses the Linux kernel for its Android OS that can be used on phones/tablets, and smart TVs. Also, Google uses the Linux kernel for its Chrome OS that is installed on Chromebook laptops, and it uses Linux for its online gaming service, Stadia.

Microsoft uses Linux for their Azure solutions.

Linux history

The Linux kernel is created by Linux Torvalds as a personal project in 1991, then in December 1992 it joined the GNU Operating System which is Unix-like operating system that was created to be an open source and free software.

The GNU project provides a collection of free applications, libraries, and developer tools that are available on many Linux distrubutions. That is why it is also called: GNU/Linux instead of just Linux, but the right name to describe the whole operating system (OS) is Linux distribution, or Linux distro as a short name, but most people call it Linux which is unaccurate.

Linux (kernel) is maintained by Linus Torvalds and many collaborators, and The Linux kernel is sponsored by The Linux Foundation, and companies like: Google, and Redhat.

You can find more information about the Linux kernel in this article » Introduction to the Linux kernel