COSC513 Project Linux Features Instructor: Prof. Mort Anvari Student: Yingfeng Luo ID: #103565

Abstract Introduction System Features Software Features Compare With Other OS Basic Commands Linux is quite possibly the most important free software achievement

Introduction  Linux is the great success story of Open Source software development.  Linux was originally developed as a hobby project by Linus Torvalds. It was inspired by Minix, a small UNIX system  Linux is a free Unix-type operating system  Linux can run on a variety of platforms including PowerPC, Macintosh, Amiga, Atari, DEC Alpha, Sun Sparc, ARM, and many others. Due to the very nature of Linux’s functionality and availability, I choose Linux operating system features as my project.

System Features  Multitasking, Multiuser  Many people can run many different applications on one computer at the same time.  Login session differs yourself with others.  Administrator  In Linux you are the system administrator which differs from UNIX, so you must set up your own account before you can log in.  In addition, each system has a host name assigned to it. It is this host name that gives your machine a name, gives it character and charm. The host name is used to identify individual machines on a network, but even if your machine isn't networked, it should have a host name.

System Features (Cont. 1)  Stability  Linux boxes are known for running months or even years at a time without crashing, freezing, or having to be rebooted.  Linux stores the date in a different way from other computers. (Its trouble date is 2038, by which time a small modification to the kernel should have solved the problem.)  Also, because it is extremely secure compared to other platforms, viruses for Linux are practically non-existent.  Speed  Linux machines are extremely fast, because the OS is very efficient at managing resources such as memory, CPU power, and disk space.

System Features (Cont. 2)  Graphical Interface  Linux Linux has at least a dozen graphical interfaces (known as window managers)  The most popular window managers are KDE (the K Desktop Environment) and GNOME (the GNU Network Object Model Environment).  These offer the point-and-click, drag- and-drop functionality associated with other user-friendly environments, but are extremely flexible and can take on a number of different looks and feels.  Programs that work with one window manager nearly always work with all the others.

System Features (Cont. 3)  Software Development  Linux development environment is second to none.  Linux systems come standard with C and C++ compilers and an assembler, and often include Pascal, FORTRAN, and BASIC implementations as well.  In addition, modern languages like Perl and Python and classic languages like LISP are all available, fully functional and completely free.  In addition, the source code for nearly any Linux program is freely available. This not only means that bugs are discovered and corrected almost immediately, but development of software proceeds at a much faster pace The source code for nearly any Linux program is freely available. This phenomenon is called Open Source.

System Features (Cont. 4)  Networking  Networking comes naturally to Linux.  Probably all networking protocols in use on the Internet are native to Linux.  A large part of the Web is running on Linux boxes, especially because of the Apache Web Server proving the effectiveness and viability of the Open Source approach.  Linux Kernel  The central nervous system of Linux is Kernel  The Linux kernel is developed to use protected-mode features of Intel and better processors.  Linux kernel was designed for multitasking systems like UNIX.  The kernel design is modular, so that the actual OS code is very small yet able to load whatever functionality it needs, and free the memory afterwards.  The kernel remains small and fast yet highly extensible Linux is created for networking. Kernel is the central nervous system of Linux.

System Features (Cont. 5)  Other Features  Jobs and processes  A running process is also called a job.  Jobs can either be in the foreground or in the background.  Jobs may also be suspended  Productivity  coexist on the same machine as other OS.  Etc. You can install Linux, Windows and OS/2 all on one system

Software Features  Directory Tree  The example is Linux directory tree  Text Editor  there are many editors available for Linux: vi, ex, pico, jove, and GNU emacs etc.  vi -- ``visual editor.'’ is common in UNIX/Linux.  /home/larry# vi test  Virtual Console  Let you have more than one login session on the console at one time.  Shell Programing  A shell is just one interface to Linux.  Shell is a program that takes the commands you type and translates them into instructions to the Linux.

Compare With Other OS

Basic Commands  Mousehouse login: larry  Password: larry's password  Welcome to mousehouse!  /home/larry# -- shell's prompt  /home/larry# exit -- logout  /home/larry# password -- change password  /home/larry# ls -- list the contents of directory  /home/larry# ls -F -- list and tell which is file/directory  /home/larry# mkdir foo -- create directory "foo"  /home/larry# cd foo -- move to directory foo  /home/larry# cp /etc/shells. -- copy file "shells"  /home/larry# mv termcap shells -- rename file "termcap" into  "shells”, you may also move "termcap" into a new directory  /home/larry# rm shells -- remove file/directory  /home/larry# more shells -- look at the file "shells"  /home/larry# man ls -- get online help for "ls”  Changing permissions command:  Syntax: chmod {a, u, g, o} {+, -} {r, w, x}  A ( all )  U ( user )  G ( group )  O ( owner )  + ( add rights )  - ( take away )  r ( read )  w ( write )  x ( execute )