Linux: Difference between revisions

The [[GNU Project]], started in 1983 by [[Richard Stallman]], had the goal of creating a "''complete Unix-compatible software system''" composed entirely of [[free software]]. Work began in 1984. Later, in 1985, Stallman created the Free Software Foundation and wrote the [[GNU General Public License]] (GNU GPL) in 1989. By the early 1990s, many of the programs required in an operating system (such as libraries, compilers, text editors, a [[Unix shell]], and a windowing system) were completed, although low-level elements such as [[device driver]]s, daemon, and the kernel were stalled and incomplete. Linus Torvalds has said that if the GNU kernel had been available at the time (1991), he would not have decided to write his own.

Today Linux distributions are used in numerous domains, from [[embedded system]]ssystems to [[supercomputer]]ssupercomputers, and have secured a place in [[server (computing)|server]] installations with the popular [[LAMP (software bundle)|LAMP]] application stack.Use of Linux distributions in home and enterprise desktops has been expanding.They have also gained popularity with various local and national governments. The federal government of Brazil is well known for its support for Linux.News of the Russian military creating their own Linux distribution has also surfaced.Indian state of [[Kerala]] has gone so far as to make it mandatory for all state high schools to run Linux on their computers. People's Republic of China uses Linux exclusively as the operating system for its Loongson processor family to achieve technology independence. In Spain some regions have developed their own Linux distributions, which are widely used in education and official institutions, like gnuLinEx in Extremadura and Guadalinex in Andalusia. France and Germany have also taken steps towards the adoption of Linux.