111
this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2023
111 points (98.3% liked)
Linux
48083 readers
763 users here now
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Rules
- Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
- No misinformation
- No NSFW content
- No hate speech, bigotry, etc
Related Communities
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as Linux,
is in fact, systemd/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, systemd plus Linux.
Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component
of a fully functioning systemd system made useful by the systemd corelibs, shell
utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by IBM.
Many computer users run a modified version of the systemd system every day,
without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of systemd
which is widely used today is often called "Linux", and many of its users are
not aware that it is basically the systemd system, developed by Lennart Poettering.
There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a
part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system
that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run.
The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself;
it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is
normally used in combination with the systemd operating system: the whole system
is basically systemd with Linux added, or systemd/Linux. All the so-called "Linux"
distributions are really distributions of systemd/Linux.
With the scope of systemd this one makes more sense than GNU/Linux