What is Liunx?(Technology Computer English)

 

Linux is a free, UNIX-like operating system, developed originally for

home PCs, but which now runs on a variety of platforms including PowerPC,

Macintosh, Amiga, Atari, DEC Alpha, Sun Sparc, ARM, and many others.

Linux aims for POSIX compliancy to maintain maximum compatibility with

other UNIX-like systems. With millions of users worldwide, Linux is probably

the most popular UNIX-like OS in the world.

The Linux System

The central nervous system of Linux is the kernel, the operating

system code which runs the whole computer. The kernel is under constant

development and is always available in both the latest stable release

and the latest experimental release. Progress on development is

very fast, and the recent 2.4-series kernels are simply amazing on all

counts. The kernel design is modular, so that the actual OS code is very

small yet able to load whatever functionality it needs when it needs it,

and then free the memory afterwards. Because of this, the kernel remains

small and fast yet highly extensible, in comparison to other operating

systems which slow down the computer and waste memory by

loading everything all the time, whether it is needed or not.

Linux systems excel in many areas, ranging from end-user concerns

such as stability, speed, and ease of use, to serious concerns such as development

and networking.

Nowadays, Linux even offers a variety of commercial productivity

packages and office suites which can import and export files from other

platforms, including Windows and MacOS.

Stability

Linux has long been praised for its stability--Linux boxes are known for

Linux是一个免费的类UNIX操作系统

最初专为家用PC机开发但现在却运行于各种

平台包括PowerPC Macintosh Amiga

Atari DEC Alpha Sun Sparc ARM以及

其它多种平台在内以其数百万的世界用户群

而言,Linux或许是世界上最流行的类UNIX的

操作系统

Linux系统

Linux的中枢神经系统是能运行于整个计

算机的操作系统代码内核内核处于持续发

展之中它始终可以同时用于最新的稳定版本和

最新的测试版本其开发进程非常迅速最新的

2.4版内核在所有方面都可圈可点内核设计是

模块化的所以尽管真正的操作系统代码非常

小但能够在所需要的任何时候载入所需要的

任何函数然后释放内存就因为这一点内核

能够既小又迅速且具有非常高的可扩展性与

之相较其它的操作系统不论是否需要总是载

入所有的东西既延缓运算速度又浪费了内存

Linux系统在许多方面都具有优势范围

小至终端用户的稳定性速度及易用性大到开

发和网络的关键部分

如今Linux甚至还提供了各种商业化软

件包以及办公组件这些办公组件能够从Windows

和Mac操作系统在内的其它平台输入和输

出文件

稳定性

长久以来人们就对Linux的稳定性称道

running months or even years at a time without crashing, freezing, or

having to be rebooted.

Linux users sometimes poke fun at other, less stable operating

systems, by way of screensavers like BSOD (Blue Screen of Death,

which displays crash screens from various other platforms) and games

like XBill (where an evil virus masquerading as a popular operating system

is causing machines to catch on fire).

Linux is Y2K-compliant, storing 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 also known to be extremely fast, because the

operating system is very efficient at managing resources such as memory,

CPU power, and disk space. More of the Web than one might expect is

actually powered by old 486 boxes running Linux and the Apache Web

Server, while NASA, Sandia, Fermilabs and others have built very powerful

yet inexpensive supercomputers by creating clusters of Linux boxes

running in parallel.

What software is available for Linux?

Linux's open-source approach to software development has produced

thousands of pieces of software of all varieties, which are constantly

being improved. Much Linux software is completely free along

with the source code, and there are many excellent archives of Linux

software as well as GNU software and other UNIX-compatible software.

If you can imagine it, it probably exists.

Apparently someone was interested, because short ly thereafter,

there were more developers than Linus even knew about. Today,

with a firm base of at least 10 million users worldwide, Linux is growing

exponent ially as programmers, enthusiast s, and end-users exchange

thoughts, implement ideas, contribute code, and cooperate

in the phenomenon known as Open Source to produce the operating

system known as Linux.

不已Linux boxes就以一次运行长达数月甚至

数年而无崩溃当机和重启现象闻名于外

有时Linux用户也会用BSOD 即Blue Screen

of Death 显示其它各种平台崩溃画面的屏保屏

幕保护程序和Xbill 该游戏中一个装扮成流行操

作系统的恶性病毒正在将机器带入危险状态之类

的游戏来取笑那些稳定性较差的其它操作系统

通过用不同的方式将数据存储进其它电脑的方

法Linux 解决了Y2K难题带来麻烦的数据是

2038 只要对内核的时间作一点微小更改就可以解

决该问题同样因为和其它平台相比Linux非

常安全所以针对Linux的病毒实际上也不存在

速度

Linux机同样出名之处还在于高速度因为在

诸如内存CPU能源以及磁盘空间等资源的管理方

面操作系统非常高效实际上在NASA Sandia

Fermilabs等通过创建Linux boxes簇来构建强大

价廉的超型计算机的同时由运行Linux和Apache

Web服务器的旧式486 boxes构成的Web要比人

们想象的更多一些

适用于Linux的软件有哪些

数以千计的各类软件都是因为Linux软件开发

的开放源代码方法而产生人们正在不断地对这些

软件进行改进许多Linux软件连同源代码一起

完全免费此外还存在许多优秀的Linux 软件

GNU软件和其它可兼容UNIX软件的存档文件凡

是你能想象出的软件或许它就已经存在了

显而易见以前有人对此很感兴趣因为之后

不久有更多的开发人员甚至比Linus本人还要清

楚今天在世界各地至少上亿用户的坚实基础上

在众所周知的源代码开放现象下程序员爱

好者和终端用户们交流思想实施观点公开代码

并且共同合作来缔造同Linux一样知名操作系统的

同时Linux正在飞速发展