Linux is the well-known, most popular, and most-used open-source operating system. Linux OS is based on Linux Kernal. Linux Kernal was first developed and released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds.
An operating system is a software that directly manages a system’s hardware and resources, like CPU, memory, and storage. The OS sits between applications and hardware and makes the connections between all of your software and the physical resources that do the work.
There are many operating systems popular nowadays. Microsoft has its most popular Windows Operating System such as Windows 7, Windows 10, and Windows Server Operating Systems. Apple has its macOS for PCs and Desktops. Now Let’s talk about Linux Operating Systems.
Linux is free and open-source software, which means that you can use, and modify the software. It is distributed with the source code so users can view and modify it but not easily. You must have strong knowledge about its kernel and other components. Microsoft Windows, a proprietary operating system of Microsoft. It means only Microsoft can make changes in the operating system.
Linux basically comes in packaged into Linux Distro. There is most popular Linux distro available to use such as Ubuntu, Debian, Mint, Kali Linux, Fedora, RedHat Linux, and OpenSUSE.
Linux is not much more popular for use in a general-purpose operating system like Windows 10. However, Linux is Everywhere. Most of the devices you use powered by Linux such as mobile phones, tablets, servers, desktops, mainframes. Android, a widely used operating system for mobile phones and smartphones are based on the Linux kernel.
Difference Between Linux and Windows Operating Systems
| # | Linux OS | Windows OS |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Linux OS is Open Source and free to use. | Windows OS is not free to use. |
| 2. | It needs the experience to run. | Easy to learn and use. |
| 3. | You can customize the OS. | You can not modify the OS. |
| 4. | Linux is a command line. It has a Linux shell to manage it. Also known as Terminal. | This is GUI based. Command prompt and Powershell are available to do basic task using commands. |
| 5. | Popular in Server OS. | Popular in general-purpose OS. |
| 6. | Linux is used everywhere. | Windows is limited to PCs, Desktops, and Servers. |
| 7. | Popular Distro Fedora, Debian, Redhat Linux, and Ubuntu. | Popular OS windows 7, windows 10, and windows server operating system |
| 8. | Most Secure OS. | Not that much secure. |
Benefits of Linux OS
If we talk about benefits of Linux OS, you will finds too many over Windows OS.
- Linux is Open Source and Free to use.
- You can customize the OS as per your requirement.
- Linux OS is most popular among developers and programmers nowadays.
- Most of the applications and software bundles are free to use.
- Linux is a secure OS. You need not worry about Malware and Anti Virus.
- Most reliable and stable OS.
- No need to patch it every month, unlike Windows OS.
- Great Community Support
- Linux runs the world’s top 500 fastest supercomputers and used by Big companies like Amazon, Google, IBM, and Facebook.
Linux OS Functionality
Linux was designed to be similar to UNIX but has evolved to run on a wide variety of hardware from phones to supercomputers. Linux OS comes with a Kernal, System userspace, and applications.
The OS includes some common core components, like the GNU tools. These tools give the user a way to manage the resources provided by the kernel, install additional software, configure performance and security settings, and more. All of these tools bundled together to make up the functional operating system.
Reference: