What is Linux and what is a kernel, in plain English?

Question

I know Linux is a free OS, but beyond that I'm not sure (Wikipedia and other sites were way too confusing). What's a Linux Kernel, what does "Unix-like" mean and what is an open source OS? Thanks a lot.. I'm trying to prepare for a minor in computer engineering lol

Answer 1

A kernel is the heart of an OS it manages the memory drives and accepts inputs from the user interface (shells guis ext)

Unix-like is any operating system that is basically a clone of the Unix operating system. unix is an operating system that was developed by bell labs for internal use. They let other folks copy it.

Open source- when you write a program the first step is to write the source code- in a language like C C++ or what ever else you might use. You can think of it as a blue print or recipe if you like.

Then you run have a program called a compiler build the program. Windows is a closed source program only microsoft can see the source code. On the the other hand with a open source program or OS like Linux the source code the source code is publicly available. So you can modify it yourself.

edit a source code is a text document that has a bunch of if then statements that state things like what to do when you type or move the mouse and- that you can edit .

Answer 2

There are different opinions regarding the relationship between linux and the kernel. Some people say linux is the kernel. And I will agree. Linux=kernel. The linux OS comprises of the kernel (aka linux) plus a bunch of other programs that provide the GUI such as Gnome or KDE and a bunch of other smaller programs that make it a fully fledged Operating system.

Open source OS means, you don't have to pay to use it, it also means you can edit the code and redistribute it. Just beware those since there are difference open source licenses, some allow redistribution of code and others its only free to use but not redistribute.

"Unix-like" .. hmm, not sure since i dont have tthe entire sentence, but i would assume they mean, it's based on unix, or if they're talking about appearance, it looks like a typical unix flavored os. Once again can't say for sure without knowing in which context its being used.

Answer 3

Linux as an OS is a "distro". Other people have linked software libraries to a kernel. The kernel represents the engine that takes care of the running the parts of a computer motherboard.



Some folks derive masochist joy from modifying the source code of Linux, which is plain text. The fun part is you compile that code into machine-readable binary. Depending upon your hardware, compiling a kernel might take days and several attempts if the compilation finds errors. Once the revision compiles, without errors, you would execute it to run.



I would encourage you to download and read through any version of Linux. Some of the comments in the code are hilarious. (Comments are human instructions, memory joggers, or explanations that do not compile).

Answer 4

well what i was taught was linux is not just 1 os there are manny linux os from yello dog to ubunto. most versions of linux are open source(wich means there mod freindly) and a basicly a starter kit for building your own os i know ubunto when you first get it is only a bios screen you have to program the rest. good luck with your computer course.