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Linux

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"GNU/Linux" redirects here. For See also GNU/Linux naming controversy, see GNU/Linux (disambiguation).

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Linux
 
Tux the penguin, mascot of Linux[1]
DeveloperGNU Project, Linus Torvalds and many others
Written inAssembly language, C
OS familyUnix-like
Working stateCurrent
Source modelFree and open source software
Marketing targetDesktops, servers, embedded devices
Available inMultilingual
Supported platformsDEC Alpha, ARM, AVR32, Blackfin, ETRAX CRIS, FR-V, H8/300, Itanium, M32R, m68k, Microblaze, MIPS, MN103, PA-RISC, PowerPC, s390, S+core, SuperH, SPARC, TILE64, Unicore32, x86, Xtensa
Kernel typeMonolithic
UserlandGNU and others
Default
user interface		Graphical (X Window System) and command-line interface
LicenseVarious including GNU General Public License, BSD License, Apache License, MIT License, and others[2]
Official websitekernel.org

Desktop

Main article: Desktop Linux

The popularity of Linux on standard desktop computers and laptops has been increasing over the years.[3] Currently most distributions include a graphical user environment, with the two most popular environments being GNOME (which can utilize additional shells such as the default GNOME Shell, the Ubuntu Unity), and the KDE Plasma Desktop. All three are mature and support a wide variety of languages. [citation needed]

Market share and uptake

Main article: Linux adoption

Template:OS marketshare

See also: Usage share of operating systems

Many quantitative studies of free / open source software focus on topics including market share and reliability, with numerous studies specifically examining Linux.[4] The Linux market is growing rapidly, and the revenue of servers, desktops, and packaged software running Linux was expected to exceed $35.7 billion by 2008.[5]

IDC's Q1 2007 report indicated that Linux held 12.7% of the overall server market at that time.[6] This estimate was based on the number of Linux servers sold by various companies, and did not include server hardware purchased separately which had Linux installed on it later. In September 2008 Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer admitted that 60% of web-servers run Linux versus 40% that run Windows Server.[7]

Primarily based on web server statistics, various companies estimated that the desktop market share of Linux range from less than 1% to 4.8%.[8] In comparison, Microsoft operating systems hold more than 85%.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

Analysts and proponents attribute the relative success of Linux to its security, reliability, low cost, and freedom from vendor lock-in.[18][19][failed verification]

The Wine compatibility layer allows users to run many programs designed for Windows under Linux.[20] About half of Wine's code has been contributed by volunteers and half sponsored by commercial interests including CodeWeavers, which produces a commercial version of the software. Since 2009, Google has also provided funding to the Wine project.[21][22]

The XO laptop project of One Laptop Per Child is creating a new and potentially much larger Linux community which is planned to reach millions of schoolchildren and their families in the developing world.[23] Major supporters of the project include Google, Red Hat, and eBay.[24] Although the XO will have a Windows option, it will be primarily deployed with Fedora Linux while using Sugar as the desktop environment.

For years Linux has been the platform of choice in the film industry.[citation needed] The first major film produced on Linux servers was 1997's Titanic. [citation needed] Since then major studios including Dreamworks Animation, Pixar, Weta Digital, and Industrial Light & Magic have migrated to Linux.[25][26][27] According to the Linux Movies Group, more than 95% of the servers and desktops at large animation and visual effects companies use Linux.[28]

See also: SCO-Linux controversies

Linux and most GNU software are licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). The GPL requires that anyone who distributes Linux must make the source code (and any modifications) available to the recipient under the same terms. Other key components of a software system may use other licenses; many libraries use the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), a more permissive variant of the GPL, and the X.org implementation of the X Window System uses the MIT License.

Torvalds states that the Linux kernel will not move from version 2 of the GPL to version 3. He specifically dislikes some provisions in the new license which prohibit the use of the software in digital rights management,[29][30] and it would also be impractical to obtain permission from all the copyright holders, who number in the thousands.[31]

A 2001 study of Red Hat Linux 7.1 found that this distribution contained 30 million source lines of code.[32] Using the Constructive Cost Model, the study estimated that this distribution required about eight thousand man-years of development time. According to the study, if all this software had been developed by conventional proprietary means, it would have cost about $1.97 billion (2025 US dollars) to develop in the United States.[32]

Most of the code (71%) was written in the C programming language, but many other languages were used, including C++, assembly language, Perl, Python, Fortran, and various shell scripting languages. Slightly over half of all lines of code were licensed under the GPL. The Linux kernel itself was 2.4 million lines of code, or 8% of the total.[32]

In a later study, the same analysis was performed for Debian GNU/Linux version 4.0 (etch, which was released in 2007).[33] This distribution contained close to 283 million source lines of code, and the study estimated that it would have required about seventy three thousand man-years and cost US$10.9 billion (in 2025 dollars) to develop by conventional means.

In the United States, the name Linux is a trademark registered to Linus Torvalds.[34] Initially, nobody registered it, but on 15 August 1994, William R. Della Croce, Jr. filed for the trademark Linux, and then demanded royalties from Linux distributors. In 1996, Torvalds and some affected organizations sued him to have the trademark assigned to Torvalds, and in 1997 the case was settled.[35] The licensing of the trademark has since been handled by the Linux Mark Institute. Torvalds has stated that he trademarked the name only to prevent someone else from using it. LMI originally charged a nominal sublicensing fee for use of the Linux name as part of trademarks,[36] but later changed this in favor of offering a free, perpetual worldwide sublicense.[37]

GNU/Linux

Main article: GNU/Linux naming controversy

The Free Software Foundation views Linux distributions that use GNU software as GNU variants and they ask that such operating systems be referred to as GNU/Linux or a Linux-based GNU system.[38] The media and common usage, however, refers to this family of operating systems simply as Linux, as do many large Linux distributions (e.g. SUSE Linux or Mandriva Linux). Some distributions, notably those based on Debian, use GNU/Linux. The naming issue remains controversial.

See also

References

  1. ^ Linux Online (2008). "Linux Logos and Mascots". Retrieved 2009-08-11.
  2. ^ "Debian GNU/Linux Licenses – Ohloh". ohloh.net. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  3. ^ What is Linux
  4. ^ Wheeler, David A. "Why Open Source Software/Free Software (OSS/FS)? Look at the Numbers!". Retrieved 2006-04-01.
  5. ^ "Linux To Ring Up $35 Billion By 2008". Retrieved 2006-04-01.
  6. ^ "─ IDC Q1 2007 report". Linux-watch.com. 2007-05-29. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  7. ^ Niccolai, James (2008). "Ballmer Still Searching for an Answer to Google". Retrieved 2009-06-04. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  8. ^ W3Schools. "OS Platform Statistics". Retrieved 2010-07-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference galli2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference paul2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference beer2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference applications2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference xitimonitor2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference globalstats2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference zeitgeist2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Byfield, Bruce (2009). "Linux Desktop Market Share: Greater Than One Percent?". Retrieved 2009-05-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  17. ^ Awio Web Services (2009). "W3Counter – Global Webstats". Retrieved 2009-08-22. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  18. ^ "The rise and rise of Linux".
  19. ^ "Why customers are flocking to Linux".
  20. ^ "WineHQ – About Wine". WineHQ. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
  21. ^ Kegel, Dan (2008-02-14). "Google's support for Wine in 2007". wine-devel (Mailing list). Retrieved 2009-01-03. {{cite mailing list}}: Unknown parameter |mailinglist= ignored (|mailing-list= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ "Open Source Patches: Wine". Google. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  23. ^ "mission". laptop.org. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  24. ^ One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a low-cost, connected laptop for the world's children's education
  25. ^ "Industry of Change: Linux Storms Hollywood". Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  26. ^ "Tux with Shades, Linux in Hollywood". Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  27. ^ "Weta Digital – Jobs". Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  28. ^ "LinuxMovies.org – Advancing Linux Motion Picture Technology". Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  29. ^ Torvalds, Linus (2006-01-26). "Re: GPL V3 and Linux ─ Dead Copyright Holders". Linux Kernel Mailing List.
  30. ^ Torvalds, Linus (2006-09-25). "Re: GPLv3 Position Statement". Linux Kernel Mailing List.
  31. ^ "– Keeping an Eye on the Penguin". Linux-watch.com. 2006-02-07. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
  32. ^ a b c Wheeler, David A (2002-07-29). "More Than a Gigabuck: Estimating GNU/Linux's Size". Retrieved 2006-05-11.
  33. ^ Amor, Juan José (17 June 2007). "Measuring Etch: the size of Debian 4.0" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-09-16. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ "U.S. Reg No: 1916230". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved 2006-04-01.
  35. ^ "Linux Timeline". Linux Journal. 31 May 2006.
  36. ^ Neil McAllister (2005-09-05). "Linus gets tough on Linux trademark". InfoWorld. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  37. ^ "Linux Mark Institute". Retrieved 2008-02-24. LMI has restructured its sublicensing program. Our new sublicense agreement is: Free – approved sublicense holders pay no fees; Perpetual – sublicense terminates only in breach of the agreement or when your organization ceases to use its mark; Worldwide – one sublicense covers your use of the mark anywhere in the world
  38. ^ Stallman, Richard (2007-03-03). "Linux and the GNU Project". Free Software Foundation. Retrieved 2007-03-12.

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