Unity University

College of Engineering , Technology and

Computational Sciences

Department of Computer Science

Course Title: UNIX/Linux Operating System

Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you will be able to:

• Describe the functions of computer operating system (OS),
• Explain evolution (history) of UNIX and Linux OS),
• Identify Parts of the UNIX/Linux OS
• Mention the benefits of Linux,
• Describe applications of Linux?
• List down different Linux distributions,
• Differentiate Linux vs. Windows OS,
• Programming Tools and Utilities available under Linux.

1. Introduction to UNIX/Linux operating system

 What is an Operating System?

 A program or a software that governs the functioning of other programs

 Interface between User and the Hardware
 Allocates resources on a computer from the CPU, to memory, to hard disk accesses.
 Allocates tasks to programs
Tasks the operating system must perform:
• Control Hardware - The operating system controls all the parts of the computer
and attempts to get everything working together.

• Run Applications - Another job the OS does is run application software. This
would include word processors, web browsers, games, etc...

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• Manage Data and Files - The OS makes it easy for you to organize your computer.
Through the OS you are able to do a number of things to data, including copy,
move, delete, and rename it. This makes it much easier to find and organize what
you have.

 Manages space and time

 Types of Operating System

 Users

– Single User

– Multi User

 Processing

– Uni-processing

– Multi-processing

 Timesharing

 Unics (Historical background)

 Uniplexed Information and Computing System

 Later renamed as UNIX

 Written in 1969

 Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie were among the developers

 Multi user, Multi tasking and timesharing

 Monolithic kernel

 Commercial products (SunOS, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, SCO UNIX)

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Linux (a Short History of Linux )

 Version (derivate ) of UNIX

 Developed in 1991 by Linus Torvalds

 Open Source Operating System (Free Software , Source Code Available)

 Used in most of the computers, ranging from super computers to embedded system
 Multi user, Multi tasking , Time sharing operating system
 Monolithic kernel

 Terminology

1) Free (Open Source) Software (can be defined by the “Four Freedoms”)

 Freedom 0: Freedom to run the software anywhere( for any purpose)
 Freedom 1: Freedom to study and change the program; access to underlying source
code
 Freedom 2: Freedom to improve the software
 Freedom 3: Freedom to redistribute copies of modified versions for others

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2) Kernel
 Core or nucleus of an operating system
 Interacts with the hardware
 First program to get loaded when the system starts and runs till the session gets
terminated
 Different from BIOS which is hardware dependent.
 Kernel is software dependent
3) Kernel types
 Monolithic Kernel
– All OS related code are stuffed in a single module
– Available as a single file
– Advantage : Faster functioning
 Micro Kernel
– OS components are isolated and run in their own address space
– Device drivers, programs and system services run outside kernel memory space
– Supports modularity
– Lesser in size
4) Shell (also called command interpreter0

 Program that interacts with kernel

 Bridge between kernel and the user
 User can type command and the command is conveyed to the kernel and it will be
executed
Types of Shell

 Sh – simple shell
 BASH – Bourne Again Shell
 KSH – Korne Shell
 CSH – C Shell
 SSH – Secure Shell
 To use a particular shell, type the shell name at the command prompt.
o Eg $csh – will switch the current shell to c shell
 To view the available shells in the system, type cat /etc/shells at the command
prompt
 To view the current shell that is being used, type echo $SHELL at the command
prompt

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 Full UNIX/Linux System Diagram

Applications

Desktop Environment

X11 GUI

Shell/CLI

Kernel

Hardware

 The Kernel - handles memory management, input and output requests, and program
scheduling. Technically speaking, the kernel is the OS. It provides the basic software
connection to the hardware. The kernel is very complex and deals with the inner
workings of these things, and is beyond the scope of this course.

 The Shell and Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) - basic UNIX shells provides a
“command line” interface which allows the user to type-in commands. These commands
are translated by the shell into something the kernel can comprehend, and then executed
by the kernel.

 The Built-in System Utilities - are programs that allow a user to perform tasks which
involve complex actions. Utilities provide user interface functions that are basic to an
operating system, but which are too complex to be built into the shell. Examples of
utilities are programs that let us see the contents of a directory, move & copy files, remove
files, etc...

 Application Software & Utilities – these are not part of the operating system. They are
additional programs that are bundled with the OS distribution, or available separately.
These can range from additional or different versions of basic utilities, to full scale
commercial applications.

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 Why We Use Linux?(I. e. what are the benefits of Linux?)

 Free for download; no licensing issues or costs

 Freedom to share with your neighbor
 A modern, very stable, multi-user, multitasking environment.
 Impervious to viruses
 Full suite of software applications
 Supports general-interest desktop applications

These include a range of :

– web browsers,
– email programs,
– word processors,
– spreadsheets,
– bitmap and vector graphics editing programs,
– file managers,
– audio players, CD writers, some good games, typing tutor, etc.

 Low resource use on hardware side

 Ported to a large number of hardware platforms: x86, x64, ARM, PowerPC, MIPS, S/390,
Super H, AMD x86-64, VAX
 Easy to use
 Available in almost any language
 Flexible: can be run on everything from watches to supercomputers

Where is Linux used?

 Personal Workstation

 File and Print Server

 Internet Service Provider

 Three-tier Client/Server

 Turnkey System

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Where is Linux also used?

Embed
ded Raspb Tablet
Watch Device erry Pi
s s
es

Server Deskto Supercom

ps puter
s Clusters
Mainframes

Laptop Phone
s s

 The Top 10 Supercomputers in the World Powered by Linux

Sequoia K Mira Juqueen Supermuc

Tianhe-1A Fermi Titan Power 775

Stampede

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 Geared for students Unity University

around the world

One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC) A low-cost, low-power Linux laptop

CPU: AMD LX-Geode CPU

@ 700MHz
RAM: 256 MB
Hard drive: 1 GB flash
Screen: LCD
monochrome/color
Wireless: Built-in
ROM: 1 MB
LinuxBIOS/CoreBoot
Operating System: based
on
Fedora Core Linux

 Linux Distributions (or Flavors of Linux)

 Corel Linux
 Debian GNU/Linux
 OpenLinux (Caldera)
 Red Hat
 Novell’s SUSE Linux
 TurboLinux
 Fedora
 Ubuntu
 Mandrake
 Slackware

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Is Linux profitable? Show me the money!

March,
2012

IBM and HP have Linux-based revenues in the billions

Multitudes of profitable Linux companies

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Differentiate Linux vs. Windows

a) Financial Differences

COST
LINUX WINDOWS
Online Downloads Free Not Available
Retail Price, CD $50 $300

 Cost for Businesses

– Companies have to spend millions for licenses for ever individual windows
computer
– For Linux companies don’t have to spend anything

b) Technical Differences

 Keeping up to date

– By Upgrading
– Linux upgrades faster than Windows

 Compatibility

– Linux is Backward Compatible unlike Windows

c) End-User Differences

 Proprietary vs. Open Source

– Windows is a Proprietary Technology(Applications will only work on
Windows)
– Linux – Open Source
– Complete information needed for download
– Technical help – Available on Internet (user must be comfortable with UNIX
system)
– Windows word processor is better than Linux

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d) File system differences.

 Windows typically uses FAT32 or NTFS file systems.

 Linux typically uses the ext2 or ext3 file systems

 In much larger research and university environments, where file access is

necessary across the network, something like Network File System (NFS) or the
Andrew File System (AFS) is used. We use AFS here on GL at UMBC.

 Windows uses letters of the alphabet to represent different devices and different
hard disk partitions. Under Windows, you need to know what volume (C:, D:,...) a
file resides on to select it, the file's physical location is part of it's name.

 UNIX/Linux starts its highest level at “/” (also called root) and drives can be
mounted anywhere underneath it.

Programming Tools and Utilities available under Linux

 Text Editors: Xemacs, Emacs , Pico , vi

 Compilers

– C compiler - gcc
– C++ compiler - g++
– Java compiler & Java Virtual Machine - javac & java
 Debuggers

– C / C++ debugger - gdb

 Interpreters

– Perl - perl
– Tcl/Tk - tcl & wish

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 Miscellaneous

– Web Browsers - Mozilla, Netscape, Firefox, and Lynx (lynx is text based)
– Instant Messengers - Gaim
– Email - Netscape is there, but we will learn Pine

 What about certifications?

What are the implications of Free Software and Linux?

 People in all fields are beginning to freely share their knowledge
 New licenses/projects based on the GPL: Creative Commons & Open Hardware
 Many industries that have a vested interest in controlling and profiting from the
restriction of knowledge are very afraid of the implications; i. e. : pharmeceutical

______________________ The End ! ________________________

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